Have you ever visited Australia? I have never been there, but it is on my
bucket list of places to visit.
Tess Hawthorne has finally decided to leave her
abusive husband. Unfortunately, she has
boarded the wrong boat as it was moored in the wrong place, the Rodney, and her
husband is on this boat. As tensions
arise between union laborers and scabs shearers of sheep, the boat is attacked
and set ablaze. Tess is attacked and her
life is change forever. Will she be able
to survive?
· The storyline was very intriguing, and I had a hard time putting it down. Fraser did a great job of crafting the story with believable well-rounded characters and having their stories come together to make a great overall novel. It was well written, descriptive, moving, and heartfelt.
· I liked how the story revolved around four childhood friends, Tess and three men – her husband Alby Slattery, Brian Kempster her neighbor who always pined away for her, and Harry Goodwin the man Tess always had a crush.
· I enjoyed learning about the shearers strike and the flooding that occurred in the 1890s Australia along the Darling and Murphy Rivers. From the burning Rodney boat, to the labor camps, Fraser took the reader inside the labor revolts.
· The novel took an honest look at spousal abuse during the nineteenth century and how it was hard for women at the time to escape from their abusive husbands.
· There was a very interesting historical note at the end from the author. A lot of the happenings in the novel are true history from 1890s Australia.
· I recommend this for those that enjoyed The Thornbirds and The Man from Snow River.
Overall, The Night on the Darling River by Darry
Fraser is historical fiction at its best with a well written, fascinating
storyline and great characters set in 1890s Australia.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Amid the rising flood waters and shearers' strike violence, can one brave woman reclaim her future? From an Australian bestselling author comes a riveting historical adventure about one woman's journey from a life of isolation to one of love and acceptance.
1894, Echuca, Victoria
Tess Hawthorn is a woman on the run from her abusive husband. All she has to do is get on the riverboat Victor and she will be free.
But with tensions at an all-time high between unionist shearers and Scabs, Tess isn't the only person trying to board a boat under the cover of night. When a brawl erupts between the union and non-union men, Tess is mistaken for a fellow Scab and in the chaos pulled aboard the PS Rodney - the same boat heading up the Darling River that her husband was bound for.
The last person Bram Kempster expects to see on board is Tess Hawthorn, the girl he's loved from afar since they were young. But he can't afford to get distracted, not when he's on an urgent trip to Renmark. Tess didn't want him back then and, if her haughty behaviour is anything to go by, she certainly doesn't want him now.
But childhood hurts are the least of their problems. The continent is a tinderbox of violence and bloodshed waiting to ignite, and at home the Murray River is rising fast. Can they overcome their past in time to work together and survive?
PRAISE FOR DARRY FRASER:
'Fraser has established herself as one of Australia's most loved historical fiction authors.' - The Herald Sun
'In The Milliner of Bendigo, Fraser delivers another enthralling adventure, sweeping us along on the remarkable journey of a woman determined to forge her own path.' - Better Reading
'Darry Fraser is at the top of her game with her latest Australian historical ... The Milliner of Bendigo is another wonderful tale to immerse yourself in.' - Great Reads & Tea Leaves
AUTHOR BIO
Darry Fraser lives on the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, very close to the mighty River Murray.
Currently she writes empowering, feminist adventure fiction set in Australian history including Daughter of the Murray, Where the Murray River Runs, The Milliner of Bendigo, and her latest release, The Night on the Darling River. She has been published annually with HarperCollins Australia since 2016. Visit her at www.darryfraser.com.
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