The Land Girls

Women in the Australian Women's Land Army played an important role in assisting with agricultural projects, especially assisting with harvesting, when there was a shortage of labour due to men joining the armed forces during the Second World War. This novel by Victoria Purman is a tribute to those women.

The novel tells the story of three women, Flora from Melbourne, Lily from Adelaide and Betty from Sydney, who for a variety of reasons decide to join the Women's Land Army. It is a story of love and loss, hope and resilience as the women adapt to their new lifestyles, make friendships and learn more about themselves and what they can achieve. It is also an interesting account of another aspect of life in Australia during World War II. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and will look for more books by this author.

Kindred: a Cradle Mountain love story

The story of Gustav Weindorfer and Kate Cowle is told by Kate Legge. Gustav was born in Austria in 1874 and came to Australia in 1901. As a naturalist and conservationist he enjoyed exploring the bush, especially mountain areas, of his his new country. It was at the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria that he met Kate Cowle who also enjoyed climbing mountains and bushwalking. Gustav and Kate married in February 1906 and they purchased a farm at Kindred, near Devonport in Tasmania. Kate's family owned another property near by. Gustav was eleven years younger than Kate but they became inseparable due to their mutual love of exploring the Australian bush.

In 1909 an expedition was arranged to explore the area now known as Cradle Mountain and Gustav became determined that it should become a national park. As well as being interested in the natural environment they were also very aware of Aboriginal connections to the region. In 1912 Gustav began building the chalet that became Waldheim so those visiting the area had a base with somewhere to stay. Kate died in April 1916. Gustav sold the farm and worked from Waldheim as a ranger. He died in 1938.

Kate Legge also enjoys mountain climbing, exploring Cradle Mountain National Park in 2015 where she first heard of Gustav and Kate. Two years later she climbed the mountain. Kate Legge set out to find all she could about Kate and Gustav's story and the result is this book. At the end of the book are extensive notes plus an index. The book also contains photographs of Kate and Gustav and of course the area they loved at Cradle Mountain.


Waldheim Chalet - History 

Companion to Tasmanian History - Gustav Weindorfer and Kate Lowe

Cradle Mountain Lodge

 Gustav Weindorfer - Australian Dictionary of Biography

England's Queens: the biography

Elizabeth Norton provides a chronological record of the queens of England from Boudicia to Elizabeth II.

The titles of the chapters are: Early and Mythical Queens; Anglo-Saxon Queens; Norman Queens; Plantagenet Queens; Lancastrian Queens; Yorkist Queens; Six Wives of Henry VII; Tudor Queen Regnants; House of Stuart; Hanoverian Queens; From the House of Hanover to the House of Windsor. The book is illustrated, has a collection of genealogical tables plus a list of sources and bibliography.

As many of their husbands spent time fighting wars for long periods of time it was often left to the early queens to look after their husband's interests while they were away, often giving the women considerable power. This book provides an interesting account of the history of England through the lives of women who were queens.

Scotland: the autobiography

Rosemary Goring has edited this chronological collection of original writings, including poetry, about periods in Scottish history covering approximately 2,000 years. The subtitle of the book is 2,000 years of Scottish history by those who saw it happen.

An account of Agicola's fleet sailing in the Orkneys in AD c80 recounted by his son-in-law, Tacitus, is the earliest entry ending with the coming of power of the SNP in Scottish Parliament in 2007. In between there are accounts of battles such as the Battle of Bannockburn and the Battle of Flodden, accounts of inventions, sporting events, explorers, rulers plus excerpts from Scottish writers and poets. A bibliography and list of sources provide additional information while a detailed index and contents pages aid navigation throughout the 400 + pages. This is a book for dipping into to discover a variety of treaures revealing many aspects of the history of Scotland.

I was particularly interested in the article describing the discovery of the ancient settlement at Skara Brae, approximately 5,000 years old. For thousands of years this settlement had been covered by sand until a storm in 1850 partially uncovered it. A second storm in 1924 revealed more of the site. Excavation of the site began in 1928 and an account by the leader of the dig is provided as the first item in the book.

Boy Swallows Universe

Boy Swallows Universe is the first novel by journalist, Trent Dalton.

The novel recounts the experiences of Eli Bell and his family encountered during Eli's teenage years. Eli and his brother Gus live with their mother and her friend, Lyle, both recovering drug addicts. His 'baby sitter' and best friend is Slim who has spent many years in Boggo Road Gaol and is renowned for his many attempts to escape prison. Slim encourages Eli to write to Alex, a prisoner who rarely receives correspondence while serving his term. Gus has stopped talking and communicates by writing in air since their father drove a car into a dam almost drowning his two sons. All in all not the best start in life for two young boys.

Although much of the plot revolves around drug dealing and its drastic affects on family life, this novel is largely involved with relationships, particularly the relationship between Eli and Gus as they strive to survive as well as find a place for themselves in an extremely challenging world. There is danger in the book but there is also hope and the boys often receive often support from unlikely sources.

In some ways this book reminded me of some of the books of Tim Winton as well as Macus Zuzak's recent novel, Bridge of Clay. They are all very Australian and deal with families facing challenging situations. Another excellent Australian novel.

The Strawberry Thief

A page or two into this book and the reader is once again transported into the world of Vianne Rocher and her friends and family living in the French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. Joanne Harris wrote Chocolat, the first book in this series, twenty years ago and The Strawberry Thief is the fourth book in the Chocolat series.

Anouk has returned to Paris to be with her boyfriend, Jean-Loup, leaving her mother and sister, Rosette, in Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. Life in the village is much as we have remembered it in previous books and then Narcisse, the florist, dies. Narcisse's daughter and son-in-law are horrified to learn that although Narcisse has left them his shop, house and farm he has left the small wood to his special young friend, Rosette. Narcisse appointed Reynard, the priest, executor of his will and also bequeaths a folder containing his life story to the priest. The equilibrium of the village is also disturbed by the arrival of Morgane who takes possession of the former florist shop to establish a tattoo parlour - not something that one would expect to find in Lansquet-sous- Tannes.

This time the story is unveiled in three voices - that of Vianne, Rosette and Reynard. Rosette is now sixteen and begins to look for some independence as she questions why she is considered different from other young people her age. Vianne is concerned that she may lose Rosette and Reynard is haunted by past events in his life. The thread of magic, often propelled by the wind, weaves throughout the pages as does the gradual understanding of past events with their effects on the present.

The Strawberry Thief is a book that I really enjoyed reading, one where I was sorry when I reached the final page.

The Postmistress

Set in Victoria in 1871, Adelaide Greaves and her son, Danny, live in a small goldmining settlement, north east of Melbourne, where Adelaide is the postmistress.  The people of Maiden's Creek know Adelaide as a widow but, in reality, Adelaide left England with Netty ten years previously to bring up her son away from her wealthy father who would not approve of his daughter being an unmarried mother.

In Maiden's Creek Adelaide has established a new life in a community very different from life she was expected to live in England. Then, an American, Caleb Hunt arrives in town. Caleb also has a mysterious past, which is gradually revealed, as he befriends Adelaide and gradually becomes part of the community. Then a person from Adelaide's past arrives in town and Adelaide's life turns into chaos.

This novel by Alison Stuart  recreates the atmosphere of life in a small mining community almost 150 years ago, introducing the reader to a range of characters all trying to survive the challenges, and sometimes danger, of living in a settlement cut off from other parts of the colony.

A Life of Her Own

In this novel by Australian author, Fiona McCallum, Alice Hamilton is struggling to decide what she really wants to do with her life. She left her home town in South Australia after the break up of her marriage and then completed an Arts degree in Melbourne as a mature age student. Fortunately she became involved with a network of other students who provided emotional and commonsense support for her as she struggles to decide what she really wants from life.

She had a new partner, David, a fine house to match David's aspirations for life and now she needed a well paid job to assist with the mortgage payments. She really would like a job involving history but there is nothing available. So she looks for work as an admin officer which she is confident would suit her. When she is offered a job with a large real estate firm, with the possibility of doing more than just being a personal assistant, she jumps at the offer but soon discovers that working for Carmel Gold is more than a challenge.

Much of this novel is spent listening to Alice as she tries to work out who she really is and what she really wants to do with her life. To complicate matters further a good friend and support to her when Alice was growing up died, adding grief to Alice's list of emotional problems.

The book discusses a number of issues including narcissism and gaslighting as well as the need for support from a strong friend in times of stress. Lauren was Alice's main support along with Alice's dog, Bill.

Overall I felt that the book was far too long with much of it providing a repetition of Alice's problems and uncertainties and her, usually unsatisfactory, relationships with people.

When I started reading the first few chapters it reminded me of another book that I read earlier this year - First Love by Gwendoline Riley - where the main character works through issues with relationships with family and friends before deciding how she really wants to live her life.