Tag: Australia

Voice of an Australian convict in my handbag

Historical novelist, Rosemary Noble, is presenting an extract from her first novel entitled ‘Search for the Light‘. 

Rosemary’s novels are powerful and engaging explorations of historical periods: strong, empathetic characters and beautiful language transport the reader to the time and place.  

Rosemary researches the historical periods thoroughly, but the characters take over and tell their stories. In a letter to readers, Rosemary introduces the inspiration behind her moving novel, ‘Search for the Light’.

Dear Readers,

I am delighted to present an extract from my historical saga: ‘Search for the Light’.

This is a story of love and friendship, of three women out of the thirteen thousand transported to Van Diemen’s Land alone. Until a few years ago they had been written out of history, their contribution ignored, denigrated for behaviour unseemly in a woman of the times, constantly punished for minor misdemeanours. Some were strong enough to survive and their contribution deserves to be recognised.

I sat down one morning, and my character, Sarah, appeared out of nowhere, a victim and survivor of abuse. Readers love Sarah and I grew to love her. Once or twice I wondered if she should die but she told me, no, and I’m relieved she stayed my hand. Of all the characters, she did find the light and it was inside herself.

In the extract, Sarah has been given a life sentence of transportation for manslaughter. She is waiting in Newgate prison and Nora, the main protagonist, is another prisoner who has befriended her. Sarah is the only character written in the first person because I strongly believe she wrote her own story.

Thank you for your interest and your time.

Rosemary Noble

Words from the novel:

My name is Sarah Mawby I told her, but I don’t really know what my name is or even If my mother ever gave me one. Mawby was the name of the street where I was left. No, I don’t know who my parents are. No one claimed me. Why would they? Just another wailing mouth to feed.

I don’t know my age, about fourteen I think. I have never had a birthday. Some of us foundlings survived our childhood, but it was just luck, lots of children didn’t. We were given a cot to share, as many as ten to a cot, a few patched second-hand clothes, a morsel of food, if it could be called that; much worse than in here it was.

When sickness came, whole cotfuls of babies succumbed in turn. They told us they had gone to live with God. God obviously didn’t want me. I’m not surprised.

Oh yes, we were taught to read and count. They didn’t teach us to write. Too dangerous, we might write and tell someone how we were treated. Sundays, we went twice to church and heard all about hell fire and damnation, whilst we shivered in our thin smocks. What else did we get? Oh yes, the stick. There was lots of that. Was there love? I didn’t believe it existed. I’d heard of it but I never had any.

Then I watched Nora with her father today and saw love for the first time. It was the most beautiful thing I ever saw.

How Nora and Sarah fit into the story:

A moment’s foolish mistake costs sixteen-year old Nora her freedom and her family. Sentenced to transportation she has to grow up fast to survive prison, the long journey and then life as an assigned servant in Van Diemen’s Land of the 1820s. She is sustained by real friendships with other prisoners, Sarah and Helen. Can anyone of them overcome the pitfalls of convict life to become pioneering settlers of modern day Tasmania? This is a story of love and friendship amidst the trials of 19th century Australian colonial life.

Opinions of the reviewers:

“There were moments when I was doing the literary equivalent of shouting at the TV. It moved me, I felt alarm, indignation, great sadness and elation.” Ingenue Magazine Summer 2017

“Rosemary Noble writes with immense skill and takes great care with the characters in this story and I look forward to meeting some of them again in her next book.” John Charles Hall June 2017

“The characters are brilliantly defined; the narrative flows and the historical knowledge of the author is admirable. A fabulous read.” Catrin August 2016

More about the author:

I’m probably a frustrated historian but I’m making up for it now.

This was my first book, so a measure of relief in having achieved this goal. I thought it was going to be my one and only but at the end I wrote an epilogue, which is the daughter of Helen, another main character, looking back. And the sequel was born. So, in many ways I didn’t need to miss the characters, they were looking over my shoulder when I wrote The Digger’s Daughter and are still breathing down my neck as I write the third book in the series.

Reading ‘Ranter’s Wharf’, Rosemary’s latest release, made me feel passionate about my ancestors’ suffering. Following Rosemary’s extract and information, I have bought ‘Search for the Light’.  I am looking forward to finding out more about Australian history through Rosemary’s characters.  Digger’s Daughter, the second Australian Saga book, is also available now.

To find out more about this wonderful author, please visit my interview with Rosemary.

Please read my review of Ranter’s Wharf – it will give you a flavour of how Rosemary brings history to life.  Rosemary is the historical novelist with a social conscience. 


https://rosemarynoble.wordpress.com/

https://twitter.com/chirosie

https://www.facebook.com/RosemaryJaneNoble/

 

Please see all my extracts at Book Extracts and my blog at jessiecahalin.com.

 

Sadie’s Wars: Powerful and Deeply Moving

This historical saga of an extraordinary Australian pioneer family continues into a new generation

I have been idle for two days and it is Rosemary Noble’s fault. I travelled from innocence to experience with her character, Sadie.  She had my ear as soon as I walked into this thrilling family saga.  This hard-hitting, realistic document of challenging times deals with: propaganda, inequality, domestic violence and loss. Insight into Australia and England placed me in the centre of the historical periods.

Strategic juxtaposition of Sadie’s life during World War One Australia and World War Two Grimsby is brilliant.  Noble explores how our experiences make us react in the future thus providing depth to Sadie’s character.  Wounded by past troubles, Sadie makes decisions that made me want to sit her down and give her advice.  Tempting questions hang artfully in each chapter of this novel.  The trajectory of the plot is driven by the intense drama: the action never stops.

A photo of Sadie (she is the standing bridesmaid). This is the only one I have. She is a bridesmaid for her brother, Joe and his wife, Olive. Grandma Jane is sitting next to her. (I found this photo on the author’s website).

I moved from the air raids and community spirit in Grimsby to Sadie’s privileged life in Australia. Neither the ‘uninterrupted sky changing from purple to cobalt’, nor the ‘endless grey skies’ of Grimsby can shelter Sadie from the harsh reality of life. In her innocent years, she is brainwashed by war propaganda then learns about the impact on people as she moves through her life.   Sadie is raised to ‘obey your father until you marry then obey your husband.’  Like her contemporaries, the social straightjacket causes Sadie pain.  Noble shows the inequalities between men and woman at the turn of the century and contrasts it with changing attitudes in post Second World War Britain.  Historical events, attitudes and politics are artfully woven into the narrative fabric of the novel.

Chateau Yering as it is today

Details of a wealthy life in Australia at the turn of last century intrigued me.  I lingered on the verandas and looked at the ‘rich grassland and vineyards as far as the eye could see, framed on by majestic mountains.’ I admired Sadie’s wardrobe of beautiful clothes but realised her wealth and over-protection of her father made her more vulnerable. At every turn, I felt empathy for the young Sadie who is isolated by her ignorance.  ‘Her marriage seemed like a distant dream and her husband merely an actor in it’, and I wanted to chat with Sadie.  Noble explored love so beautifully in the novel.  There is an enchanting, exciting love story, as Sadie learns what real love means.

The wiser, experienced Sadie charmed me.  I sat with her as she waited to discover if her sons would return safely from the RAF. Noble takes the reader into the heart of air raids in Grimsby.  The air raid provides a backdrop to the inner turmoil Sadie suffers, and all these emotions are vividly connected to experiences of the past. Events in post-World War One Australia were shocking.  An intelligent, powerful and deeply moving novel from Rosemary Noble.

About the Book

An astonishing tale, spanning continents, where truth is stranger than fiction. This historical saga of an extraordinary Australian pioneer family continues into a new generation.
Sadie is brought amongst the vineyards of the Yarra Valley whilst her work-obsessed father reaps riches from the boom years before the Great War.
With post-war depression looming, Sadie’s only option is to flee from her disastrous marriage, seeking refuge in Cleethorpes, a small seaside town in northern England.
Years later, when her sons are in RAF Bomber Command, she receives a letter from her long-lost brother which forces her to confront the past and her part in her family’s downfall.
Can old wounds be healed?
Will she find new love?
Will this second war destroy everyone she saved?

Rosemary Noble is the author of Sadie’s Wars and the Currency Girls Trilogy. This is her favourite writing spot.

About Rosemary

Rosemary worked as a college and university librarian and has a life-long love of social history and reading. Researching family history led to an interest in Australia where Search for the Light ends and provides the setting for the sequel, The Digger’s Daughter. A third book in the Australian series, Sadie’s Wars, is now available.

Rosemary is a member of Arun Scribes Creative Writing Group and a member of CHINDI (Network of Independent Authors). Her third book, Ranter’s Wharf is set in England during the first half of the nineteenth century. In odd moments, she writes flash fiction for Paragraph Planet and Drabble.

For more information read my interview with Rosemary here or visit Rosemary’s blog at https://rosemarynoble.wordpress.com/

 

Please see all my book reviews and book excerpts at Books In Handbag and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

People Watching with Joanne Nicholson

Joanne posting the mail

Turning my back on the white Welsh hills, I shovelled snow from my never ending drive.  Longing to escape the cold, I dreamed of a tropical destination. Once inside, drinking my tea, I would plan a holiday.  The postman parked his van across the drive and handed me some mail.  My eyes focused on a postcard from the South Pacific. It was as if someone was reminding me to book that holiday.  Author, Joanne Nicholson had sent me a postcard from her cruise.  Later that week, Joanne emailed her reflections on the cruise.

Dear Jessie,

I dreamed of a tropical destination

I’ve just arrived back from a cruise of the South Pacific, where I lazed around as we floated above a crystal clear azure sea. My favourite pastime was people watching, and whilst sneakily gazing at the crowds I made these key observations:

  1. People love books. There was barely a sun lounge that wasn’t taken by someone engrossed in a book. It’s so great to see fellow bibliophiles.

    People want to love and be loved
  2. People want to love and be loved. There were lots of events for singles to mingle aboard the ship. They were all looking for the person that would rock their world, with whom they could sail off into the sunset.
  3. People love kids. There were over 1,000 kids on board and they had relatives swooning all over them. They looked so cute posing for a photo with Shrek, spontaneously dancing in the corridors or wearing their ice cream all down the front of their shirts.
Joanne Nicholson Positive

These reflections reminded me of my latest novel ‘Positive’ where Ruth is single and desperate to settle down and have a child. When she launches herself into online dating without success she decides it’s time to take matters into her hands and try to have a child on her own. She has the support of great friends that help her cope with her rollercoaster ride of emotions.

As an Australian author of contemporary women’s fiction, my novels are a light easy read (perfect for your handbag). They all focus around the dynamics of relationships, not necessarily with partners but with other important people in their lives.

In my novel ‘In Another Life’, Lily does a past life regression to see if she is connected with her late mother only to find she was male and her Dad was her brother. She then researches her regression and finds that her little sister from a previous life is now an old lady. She can’t help but meet her to see if they share a connection across lives.

Joanne Nicholson Intuition

In ‘Intuition’, Chloe learns she has the skill to read minds. What starts out as a lark, where she no longer has to take people on face value, turns her life upside down when she discovers her husband fantasizes about other women and her best friend has a crush on her husband.

Cheers from down under,

Joanne

About the Author

Warm, sunny greetings from Joanne

Joanne Nicholson is an Australian author who juggles parenting four kids with trying to exercise, socialise, manage sporting teams, complete mundane chores and write. She loves boating, reading, pilates, listening and playing music, playing basketball and spending quality time with family and friends. She has published two women’s fiction novels, ‘Intuition’ and ‘In Another Life’; a YA novel ‘Music Score’ and short stories, ‘Horrorscopes’ and ‘Spirits’.

Joanne’s novels deal with dynamics of relationships, but reviewers say the novels are lighthearted.  The novels look thought-provoking and tempting.  I have no idea how this author manages to write and juggle her life – she must be very dedicated to her writing. 

Contacts:

Social media: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/joanne.nicholson.372
Twitter @jolnicholson
Instagram joannenicholsonauthor
Website joannenicholsonauthor.com