_______________ The novelization of the stunning film starring Holly Hunter, winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay _______________ Ada, together with her nine-year-old illegitimate daughter Flora, and her piano, leave Scotland to arrive in the remote bush of 19th-century New Zealand for a marriage arranged by her father. Although mute, she does not consider herself silent, as her piano is the vehicle of her expression . . . In her award-winning film The Piano, Jane Campion told a love story so stunningly original that it transfixed millions of film-goers all over the world. Although she had already spent ten years writing and making the film, Campion continued to be haunted by her characters and decided to tell the whole story. Delving deeply into the characters' pasts, the novel reveals why Ada has stopped speaking, the history of the piano, and the secret of Flora's conception. We also find out about Baines's mysterious past, and discover what lies behind Stewart's stark loneliness.