A bit of lighter reading this period interspersed with a couple of more serious publications. In summary form:
- The Perfect Wife by Katherine Scholes;
- Black Sheep by Judy Nunn;
- Colonial’s Son by Peter Watt;
- Call of Empire by Peter Watt;
- Quarterly Essay No. 92: The Great Divide: Australia’s Housing Mess & How to Fix it by Alan Kohler;
- The Naturalist of Amsterdam by Melissa Ashley;
- Killers of the Flower moon by David Grann; and,
- Labyrinth by Kate Mosse.
14th November 2023
‘The Perfect Wife’ by Katherine Scholes, published in 2013; 473 pages. Read over a couple of days, another enjoyable and interesting read by this African born author, now residing in Australia – a easy read, less strenuous than some of the books I’ve read recently
Another historical fiction novel set in Africa, as I think are most of her other books. Unless there has been a recent publication, there is only one more of her novels I need to obtain.
From the broad general synopsis – A breathtaking story about duty and desire, and about following your heart, wherever in the world it may lead you. Kitty Hamilton arrives in Tanganyika with high hopes for her new life. An exciting adventure halfway across the world could be just what she and Theo need to recover from the scandal that almost tore them apart. But in this wild and foreign land, her dreams soon begin to unravel. And there is much more at stake than her quest to be a perfect wife. As old wounds resurface and new passions ignite, Kitty and Theo confront emotions that push them beyond the boundaries of all that they know and believe in.
Katherine Scholes was born in Tanzania, East Africa, the daughter of a missionary doctor and an artist. She has fond memories of travelling with her parents and three siblings on long safaris to remote areas where her father operated a clinic from his Land Rover. When she was ten, the family left Tanzania, moving first to England and then settling permanently in Tasmania. As an adult, Katherine moved to Melbourne with her film-maker husband. The two worked together for many years, writing books and making films. They have now returned to Tasmania, where they live on the edge of the sea with their two sons. Katherine is the author of eight novels, all of which I have and Have read, except for one – : The Rain Queen, Make Me An Idol, The Stone Angel, The Hunter’s Wife and The Lioness, plus The Perfect Wife, and Congo Dawn as of 2017. Published in 2020 – ‘The Beautiful Mother’, still to be purchased.
22nd November 2023
‘Black Sheep: There’s one in every family..’ by Judy Nunn, published in 2023, 502 pages.
Anyone who has read and enjoyed any of Australian author, Judy Nunn’s books, will have probably noticed the reviews, etc, relating to her latest novel – ‘Black Sheep’ Another interesting storyline from Nunn which I thoroughly enjoyed, except for the finish – I felt it ended ‘up in the air’ – unanswered questions!! Or at least one specific subject, relating to a theme which seemed to raise it’s head at various points of the story, to such an extent, that this reader was left with some anticipation as to the eventual outcome – yet it faded into oblivion at the sudden end of the story. Perhaps a subtle hint that there might be a sequel? I would be interested to know if any other readers were left with that ‘hole’ from the reading, without my actually revealing what it was I felt was missing! 🙂
Apart from that point, the storyline, together with the historical aspects of both rural life [sheep farming communities in particular] and that of inner Sydney in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s, and Australia’s participation in WW I, allied with the way those aspects were incorporated into the lives of the novel’s characters, I thoroughly enjoyed, being another pleasant sojourn into a touch of ‘lighter’ reading.
As a general synopsis: from ‘Better Reading’
Judy Nunn knows how to deliver a historical blockbuster. Black Sheep is Nunn’s hugely anticipated new novel. It’s a sweeping family saga about a prosperous sheep-farming family and the enigmatic young man they let into their lives. This is historical fiction at its best, pulling on the heartstrings whilst creating a vivid setting that transports us back to another era. In Black Sheep, we follow the story of two friends brought together by fate and their shared secrets. The action moves from the Shearing Wars of Queensland to the exclusive gentlemen’s clubs of Sydney, Melbourne and London; from the woolsheds of Goulburn to the trenches of the Western Front. Nunn weaves place through this story like she’s sitting right there on the doorstep of history herself. Into these meticulously crafted eras she introduces her main characters, as well as a cast of extras who are as well-rounded as their leads.
Orphaned at sixteen, James Wakefield was determined to be a gun shearer just like his dad. Only his path is not a smooth one; he’s killed twice, changed his name and ended up on the run from the law. But fate steps in in the form of Ben McKinnon, heir to the vast Glenfinnan sheep property near Goulburn. Ben has a secret of his own, one that would shatter the privileged lives of his father and sisters if it were to come out. These two form an unlikely yet powerful friendship and become the keeper of each other’s secret.
When Ben takes his friend back to his family’s sheep station, the drama and intrigue builds as the family saga plays out. Has James finally found the family he’s always longed for? Or has the McKinnon dynasty unwittingly adopted a black sheep?
Nunn’s career has been as multifaceted as the novels she began writing back in the ‘90s, after many successful years as an actor and scriptwriter. She’s a master at bringing Australian history to life. Nunn excels at merging fact with fiction, evident in her long list of previous bestsellers such as Showtime!, Khaki Town and Spirits of the Ghan. All of these deliver a pitch-perfect combination of page-turning drama, relatable characters, and real historical events.
Nunn says that while her latest release, Black Sheep, is ostensibly about the breeding of fine Merino sheep, it’s really more about the genetic strains of those humans who are breeding them. It’s a ‘good seed, bad seed’ story set on a sheep station but with a big twist – and we are all there for it! Nunn once again shows why she’s considered one of Australia’s great storytellers.
26th November 2023
‘Colonial’s Son’ by Peter Watt, published in 2021, 367 pages, the 4th of the Colonial series
As always, a wonderful mix of history and fiction – of particular interest, the sections dealing with the Palmer River [in Queensland] and the gold rushes of that area and era – centred on C19th Australia, Europe, London, Afghanistan and onto the battlefield of Kandahar [India].
As a brief precis – As the son of ‘the Colonial’, legendary Queen’s Captain Ian Steele, Josiah Steele has big shoes to fill. Although his home in the colony of New South Wales is a world away, he dreams of one day travelling to England so he can study to be a commissioned officer in the Scottish Regiment. After cutting his teeth in business on the rough and ready goldfields of Far North Queensland’s Palmer River, he finally realises his dream and travels to England, where he is accepted into the Sandhurst military academy. While in London he makes surprising new acquaintances – and runs into a few old ones he’d rather have left behind. From the Australian bush to the glittering palaces of London, from the arid lands of Afghanistan to the newly established Germany dominated by Prussian ideas of militarism, Josiah Steele must now forge his own path.
As described by the Canberra Weekly, Peter Watt – ‘Australia’s master of the historical fiction novel’ – I first came across his books, when he was a guest of the Sunbury Library at a reading session I attended many years ago. Have read all of his published books since that day.
I reviewed the first three books in this series in the Coachbuilder’s Column in recent years.
The author, Peter Watt has been a soldier, articled clerk to a solicitor, prawn trawler deckhand, builder’s labourer, pipe layer, real estate salesman, private investigator, police sergeant and adviser to the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary. He has lived and worked with Aborigines, Islanders, Vietnamese and Papua New Guineans and speaks, reads and writes Vietnamese and Pidgin. He now lives at Maclean, on the Clarence River in northern New South Wales. He is a volunteer firefighter with the Rural Fire service, and is interested in fishing and the vast opens spaces of outback Queensland.
30th November 2023
‘Call of Empire’ by Peter Watt, published in 2022, 352 pages – another enthralling story by this author – the 5th book in the Colonial Series [and a direct follow-on from the book reviewed above], and judging by the ending pages, possibly at least one more to come. Watt’s usual wonderful mix of fiction and history – not just within Australia, but various conflicts in the latter part of the 1800s around the world, as noted in the following broad review of the book [from the book cover, and various publishers and suppliers].
‘It is 1885. After a decade spent fighting for Queen and Country across the globe, Colonel Ian Steele is enjoying the quiet life in the colony of New South Wales, reunited with his friend Conan Curry and watching over his children and numerous business enterprises. But the British Empire’s pursuits are ceaseless, and when the colony’s soldiers are required to assist a campaign in Sudan, North Africa, Ian’s son Lieutenant Josiah Steele heeds the call, despite an ultimatum from the love of his life, Marian. Meanwhile, Ian’s younger son Samuel is learning the family business in the Pacific islands with his friend and colleague Ling Lee. However, Lee has become embroiled in a scheme to smuggle guns for the Chinese, which sees the pair sailing directly into danger in Singapore. As the reign of Queen Victoria draws to a close and new battles loom on several frontiers, the Steele family must face loss and heartbreak like never before.
A couple of individual comments , which illustrate my feelings of encouragement to learn more about the different conflicts referred to.
- This book was excellent. Although its number 5 in the series it can easily be read as a standalone. The book moves at a medium pace and is easy to keep up with the story. Peter Watts writing style is easy to read and he is an exceptional storyteller. The chapters in the book are short and set in different countries all over the world. It starts in 1885 and involves different wars. I connected mainly with the father and his two sons as they are the main characters in the storyline. The characters involved in this book were from the same families but different generations.
- What a brilliant saga, from the first book to the fifth. Memorable characters – men and women behaving well and behaving badly – plenty of globe-spanning action and intrigue, and a wonderful glimpse into Australia’s colonial past.
- Another in the colonial series. I did enjoy the call backs to earlier books, particularly where our protagonists are at fault. An interesting read about some of the conflicts Australians have been involved in that don’t necessarily get the media attention.
- Excellent read covering the formation of Australia and early deployment of Australian troops. Entertaining to the end.
8th December, 2023
Quarterly Essay No. 92: The Great Divide: Australia’s Housing Mix and How to Fix It by Alan Kohler. today.
One of the great mysteries of Australian life is that a land of sweeping plains, with one of the lowest population densities on the planet, has a shortage of land for houses. As a result, Sydney is the second most expensive place to buy a house on Earth, after Hong Kong.
The escalation in house prices is a pain that has altered Australian society; it has increased inequality and profoundly changed the relationship between generations – between those who have a house and those who don’t. It has caused a rental crisis, a dearth of public housing and a mortgage crunch.
Things went seriously wrong at the start of the twenty-first century, when there was a huge and permanent rise in the price of housing. In this crisp, clarifying and forward-looking essay, Alan Kohler tells the story of how we got into this mess – and how we might get out of it
Written by Alan Kohler, and while some of the charts and graphs sometimes got beyond my comprehension, the general content was highly informative, and interesting. Some readers will be familiar with Alan Kohler, who among other attributes [including former editors of the Age, and the Australian Financial Review], presents the finance report on the weeknight ABC news bulletins
As recorded on the back cover of the Essay –
‘The growth in the value of Australian land has fundamentally changed society, in two ways. First, generations of young Australians are being held back financially by the cost of shelter, especially if they live somewhere near a CBD and especially in Sydney or Melbourne; and second, the way wealth is generated has changed. Education and hard work are no longer the main determinants of how wealthy you are; now it comes down to where you live and what sort of house you inherit from your parents. It means Australia is less of an egalitarian meritocracy’
One of a number of solutions that Alan Kohler proposes in the Essay, relates to attention to a fast rail network in Australia – not so much between the capital cities [which has been, and still is in the ‘pipeline’ for decades], but between their CBDs and regional cities and centres. He is talking about where people are forced to live in relation to where they work.
He writes: “At the moment the viable commuting distance in Australia is no more than 50 kilometres, because the trains are slow and traffic is a nightmare even on expensive toll roads. This can involve a commute of an hour and a half. The fact that most people want to crowd into that fifty-kilometre radius, and that it consists of mostly single dwellings on large blocks of land, is the fundamental cause of Australia’s unaffordable housing……..Unless there is a big and unlikely increase in the density of housing within 50 kilometres of the CBD, the commuting radius needs to extend to 100 to 200 kilometres. To make that happen, commuter trains need to travel 150 kilometres an hour, and preferably 200 kilometres per hour, so there can be a few stops while keeping the travel time to an hour……To be a housing affordability solution, high-speed rail needs to radiate inland from the CBD, as well as up and down the coast. Specifically, commuters need to be able to live in Bathurst, 200 kilometres from the Sydney CBD and currently a four hour train journey, and get to work in the city within an hour. Or Bendigo, 150 kilometres from Melbourne. Or Toowoomba, 125 kilometres from Brisbane, which currently takes two hours on the train”. ……..All the talk about a lot more medium-density housing is just that – talk. It will never actually happen. What’s needed is transport infrastructure”
Kohler goes on to say that –
“There has been talk of fast trains in Australia for about forty years, but the discussion has always been about fast train travel between capital cities to replace air travel, not within the cities to extend them. And even on that subject, Australia has been left standing at the platform. There are now about 60,000 kilometres of high-speed rail in the world…..and there’s a lot more coming……None of them are or will be in Australia……which has stuck with cars and planes. The result is expensive housing.”
So why are there no fast trains in Australia:
Kohler suggests that “Transport infrastructure in Australia is controlled by the airlines and the toll-road operators, but no-one rich and powerful is pushing trains, and the projects that are put up are either too ambitious, not ambitious enough or ambitious in the wrong way”.
[Extract from Quarterly Essay 92].
Incidentally, QE 91, the previous essay, provided an excellent expose and personal experience, of the present state of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, written by a ‘recipient’ under NDIS, Micheline Lee, who has lived with a motor neurone disability since birth. Both Essays well worth a read to gain a detailed understanding of both topics.
12th December
While the subject matter may not appeal to everyone, this book is the beautifully written The Naturalist of Amsterdam, by Melissa Ashley, published in 2023, 393 pages: for someone interested in the natural world, this is based on an historical story of exploration and research, in an age of discovery as naturalists raced to discover the secrets of the world. Centred in Amsterdam at the turn of the C18th – where that city is at the centre of that intellectual revolution by artists and scientists seeking the wonders of the natural world.
Of all brilliant naturalists in Europe at the time, Maria Sibylla Merian is one of its brightest stars, and it is she about whom this book is centred.
As per the book description – ‘From the jungles of South America to the bustling artists’ studios of Amsterdam, Melissa Ashley charts an incredible period of discovery. With stunning lyricism and immaculate research, The Naturalist of Amsterdam gives voice to the long-ignored women who shaped our understanding of the natural world – both the artists and those who made their work possible’
From the author’s words – “Maria Sibylla Merian was an extraordinary woman: a naturalist, artist, entrepreneur, and claimed by some scholars as the very first ecologist…………..The range of expertise required by Merian and her daughters [and one in particular, Dorothea who attempted to carry on her mother’s work after her death] to create her opus [The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname’] was vast: sketching, composition and watercolour painting; etching and engraving; field observations and laboratory investigations; teaching and operating a successful business, and so much more…”
17th December.
Of a very different subject, and genre, and written six years ago is Killers of the Flower Moon’ by David Grann, published in 2017, 339 pages – again, meticulously researched over many years, to create a narrative of non-fiction, set in Oklahoma in the 1920s. A story of oil, money, murder, and the creation of the FBI.
In Osage County, on land which had been allocated to the Osage Indians, oil was subsequently discovered beneath that land, resulting in the Indian population suddenly owning untold wealth. But then, one by one, they began to be killed off as the white population in the area tried to gain control of that wealth. Collusion, cover-ups and corruption within most sections of the non-Indian populace, would mean many of those murders would never be able to be attributed to a particular individual. When the FBI eventually took up the case, they began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
While as revealed in the book, convictions were eventually made relating to some of those murders, the case has never really closed, and in the end, dozens if not hundreds of murders would never be solved – as the author reports in the closing sections: “While researching the murders, I often felt as though I was chasing history even as it was slipping away..” That outcome was despite extensive investigations and research, even up until just prior to the book’s publication. In a note to the sources, the author writes that “This book is based extensively on primary and unpublished materials. They include thousands of pages of FBI files, secret grand jury testimony, court transcripts, informants’ statements, logs from private eyes, pardon and parole records, private correspondence, an unpublished manuscript co-authored by one of the detectives, diary entries, Osage Tribal Council records, oral histories, field reports from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, congressional records, Justice Department memos and telegrams, crime scene photographs, wills and last testaments, and the murderers’ confessions…”
The author writes on page 286 – “In cases where perpetuators of crimes against humanity elude justice in their time, history can often provide at least some final accounting, forensically documenting the murders and exposing the transgressors. Yet so many of the murders of the Osage were so well concealed that such an outcome is no longer possible. In most cases, the families of the victims have no sense of resolution…”
25th December
‘Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, published in 2005; 708 plus pages – I began reading this book a couple of years ago, came back to it in recent days. It is set in two time periods – July 1209 in Carcassonne [old France], and July 2005, in the French Pyrenees.
An interesting story – I sometimes found the switching back and forth between periods a little annoying, in a story described by the promotors as an action-packed adventure of modern conspiracy and medieval passion, set in France, covering a period or gap of 798 years.
In the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, Alice, a volunteer at an archaeological dig, stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery-two crumbling skeletons, strange writings on the walls, and the pattern of a labyrinth.
Eight hundred years earlier, on the eve of a brutal crusade that will rip apart southern France, a young woman named Alais is given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father. The book, he says, contains the secret of the true Grail, and the ring, inscribed with a labyrinth, will identify a guardian of the Grail. Now, as crusading armies gather outside the city walls of Carcassonne, it will take a tremendous sacrifice to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe.
In summary:
July 1209: in Carcassonne, a seventeen-year-old girl is given a mysterious book by her father which he claims contains the secret of the true Grail. Although Alaïs cannot understand the strange words and symbols hidden within, she knows that her destiny lies in keeping the secret of the labyrinth safe…
July 2005: Alice Tanner discovers two skeletons in a forgotten cave in the French Pyrenees. Puzzled by the labyrinth symbol carved into the rock, she realises she’s disturbed by something that was meant to remain hidden.
Somehow, a link to a horrific past – her past – has been revealed.
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