From the award-winning author of The Palace of the Snow Queen comes a novel about love and independence in 19th century Denmark. Inspired by the relationship between the composer Carl Nielsen and the artist and ethnographer Emilie Demant Hatt, Fossil Island tells the story of two sisters: Nik is a fourteen-year-old tomboy who spends her time fossilizing on the nearby island of Fur. Her older sister Maj is studying to be a teacher, along with her best friend, the fiery Eva Sandstrom. During the summer of 1887, their Aunt Marie introduces into the family a handsome young musician of twenty-two. Flirtation turns to a secret romance between Nik and Carl, as Maj weighs an engagement over her intense friendship with Eva. The following year in Copenhagen brings the sisters' lives to the crisis point as they juggle passion, jealousy, and violent events. Fossil Island is the first of two novels about Nik and Maj: its sequel, The Former World, continues their story.