To cool down Northern Hemisphere readers enduring the heat of summer, we’ll turn to August-wintery Down Under in this month’s selection of books set in Australia.
We begin with a little-known story from the Great Potato Famine in THE FAMINE ORPHANS by Patricia Falvey. With thousands of Irish crowding workhouses after the devastation of the potato crop led to farm failures and famine, in 1848, English stateman Earl Grey proposed a solution: orphaned Irish girls would be sent to Australia to be domestic workers, available to become brides for the convicts previously settled in this raw land. Kate Gilvarry is one of the orphan girls who agrees to take part, dreaming of a better life and a new start. During the harrowing sea voyage, she bonds with fellow travelers Patsy, Mary, Lizzie, Bridie and Sheila and begins a romance with the shipboard doctor. But the girls’ hazy dreams of a rosy future collide with grim reality once they land in Australia and are transported to Hyde Park Barracks to await their fate. Though Kate lands a job, she’s immediately confronted by virulent anti-Irish feeling and a demanding, unsympathetic employer. Despairing of seeing her doctor again, she marries former convict Luke and accompanies him to his outback farm. When heat and drought force her husband to seek work on a sheep ranch, Kate must cope alone with the often-dangerous animals and equally dangerous drifters. Though initially she pines to return to the green shores of Ireland, as she struggles and survives, she comes to love the harsh, savage land that has become her home. Falvey’s story brings to life the story of these intrepid, courageous women, illuminating the important role they played in the development of Australia.
Also set in the nineteenth century, MOONLIGHT AND THE PEARLER’S DAUGHTER by Lizzie Pook explores another little-known facet of Australia—the pearl industry. When the pearling ships arrive home to Bannin Bay after a long diving season, English immigrant and master pearler Charles Brightwell isn’t with them. Shocked and angered by whispers of mutiny or murder, Charles’s twenty-year-old daughter Eliza determines to discover the truth—whatever it costs. Her search leads her to uncover the dark side of the bright industry—corruption, extortion, and rampant exploitation of the native Australians. But, convinced her father is still alive, Eliza refuses to be discouraged, pressing on despite the attempts made to stop her. Along with Eliza’s story, Pook’s evocative prose brings to life the heat, the red dust, the sound of the birds, the scent of the trees and the whole compelling landscape of Western Australia.
We move to World War II in WE’LL MEET AGAIN by Cheryl Adnams. Australian sisters Elizabeth and Maggie Cardwell accompany their father on a diplomatic mission to the brilliant skies and turquoise seas of Hawaii. In addition to its wonderful scenery, the islands boast a full contingent of flirtatious Americans. A chance encounter on a Waikiki beach introduces the Cardwell sisters to the Baker brothers, whereupon Maggie falls for Cody while older sister Elizabeth bonds with older brother Tom. But only days after the sisters depart for home, Pearl Harbor is attacked, and Japan unleashes threats against all the Pacific islands. Wanting to do her part for the war effort, against the vehement objections of her parents, Elizabeth joins the WRANS, moving to Darwin to help in the war effort. Flighty Maggie chooses Sidney to pursue her initially more frivolous goals. Back in Hawaii, Tom, stationed aboard the doomed Oklahoma, suffers amnesia after surviving the attack, leading Cody to believe him dead and inspiring him to join up to avenge his brother’s death. The challenge of war brings dramatic change to the lives of each of them, testing the bonds of family, friendship and love. Adnams paints a compelling vision of Australia during World War II, a country which is never invaded but often threatened, whose soldiers take part in some of the deadliest battles of the war.
We end with a dual-timeline story set in the 1930s and modern day with WILDFLOWER HILL by Kimberley Freeman. Prima ballerina Emma has wanted nothing in life but to become a famous dancer. But after suffering a knee injury that ends her career, she learns that her recently deceased grandmother, successful businesswoman Beattie, has left her a sheep ranch in the wilds of Tasmania. Though initially she plans to sell the ranch, Emma ends up returning to Australia. At Wildflower Hill, she discovers boxes of memorabilia the recreate the life of her grandmother, who left Glasgow pregnant with a married man’s child to find a new start in Australia. As the timelines alternate, the reader watches Beattie’s story unfold and then views the effect learning about Beattie’s past has on Emma, who is forced to examine her life, the choices she’s made and determine which direction she will take for the future. Freeman‘s atmospheric picture of Australia between the wars sweeps the reader into this story of struggle, success and discovering what has truest value in life.
Ready to be swept away to a vast and complex land? Any one (or all) of this month’s stories will reveal bits of history and lore layered against characters for whom every reader will cheer. Enjoy!
Real, intense, passionate historical romance
Award-winning romance author Julia Justiss, who has written more than thirty historical novels and novellas set in the English Regency and the American West, just completed her first contemporary series set in the fictional Hill Country town of Whiskey River, Texas.
A voracious reader who began jotting down plot ideas for Nancy Drew novels in her third grade spiral, Julia has published poetry and worked as a business journalist.
She and her husband live in East Texas, where she continues to craft the stories she loves. Check her website for details about her books, chat with her on social media, and follow her on Bookbub and Amazon to receive notices about her latest releases.
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