Call of the Kookaburra
by Elaine Blick
When I started this book I discovered it follows two others I haven’t read. But that proved no problem as the story is complete in itself, and the previous stories are revealed easily.
It’s early in the nineteenth century when two young woman return ‘home’ to England from Sydney where they have spent several years in the very young New South Wales colonial settlement. Jane, who is the main focus of the novel, was a teacher at a school for children of former convicts freed to become settlers by the reforms of the Macquarie government.
But it is not too long before the pair, now finding life in England too restrictive, go back to Sydney with the intention of making it their permanent home. Hence the title.
Contrasts between the two countries, their social situations and the different forms of government are woven into the human stories of the women, their friends, their changing lives and loves.
“Often the conversation would turn to ‘home’ and their life in England….
Shaw was quite definite about the rightness of this decision. ‘This is a land of
opportunity,’ he said many times. ‘What future do most people have in England?...
The human stories with their complications fit well into the setting, in terms of time and geography. A basis of sound research make them believable and informative. In this easy way I learned much about life in the new colony.
The book is well designed with an attractive cover and clear type in a size that makes reading easy. Clear sentence construction also makes it accessible to a range of readers.
The back cover tells me this is the Author’s thirteenth book. I may well look for some of her others.
by Elaine Blick
When I started this book I discovered it follows two others I haven’t read. But that proved no problem as the story is complete in itself, and the previous stories are revealed easily.
It’s early in the nineteenth century when two young woman return ‘home’ to England from Sydney where they have spent several years in the very young New South Wales colonial settlement. Jane, who is the main focus of the novel, was a teacher at a school for children of former convicts freed to become settlers by the reforms of the Macquarie government.
But it is not too long before the pair, now finding life in England too restrictive, go back to Sydney with the intention of making it their permanent home. Hence the title.
Contrasts between the two countries, their social situations and the different forms of government are woven into the human stories of the women, their friends, their changing lives and loves.
“Often the conversation would turn to ‘home’ and their life in England….
Shaw was quite definite about the rightness of this decision. ‘This is a land of
opportunity,’ he said many times. ‘What future do most people have in England?...
The human stories with their complications fit well into the setting, in terms of time and geography. A basis of sound research make them believable and informative. In this easy way I learned much about life in the new colony.
The book is well designed with an attractive cover and clear type in a size that makes reading easy. Clear sentence construction also makes it accessible to a range of readers.
The back cover tells me this is the Author’s thirteenth book. I may well look for some of her others.
Review by Norma D. Plum
Title: Call of the Kookaburra
Author: Elaine Blick
Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-68235-952- 5
RRP: US$15.50
Available: Amazon; elaineblickbooks.com
Author: Elaine Blick
Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-68235-952- 5
RRP: US$15.50
Available: Amazon; elaineblickbooks.com
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