Cirrus@Austlit

'Percy Smith has always wondered why he didn’t identify with his father, but he never expected the revelation about his past that comes at the beginning of the First World War. In shock and pain he finds himself in a place far from home, where he meets Mabel Smart, a young woman who is also struggling to find her own identity in her family.

'Both Percy and Mabel must confront the issues raised by the war; internment of German born Australians, the push for conscription, the rush of young men to fight on the battlefields of Europe, and divisions in the Australian population over enlistment.

'Ultimately Percy and Mabel’s search will be about finding a way to be at peace with their families.' (Publication summary)

'Fanny Franks was raised to believe in honesty, equality and acceptance, regardless of background or circumstances. When she meets brothers Jack and Jim, she is drawn to them by the alienation and injustice which seems to pervade their lives. She is determined to intervene and help them find happiness, until trauma in her own life brings discrimination and shame for which she is ill prepared. In dealing with her own struggle she comes to understand what Jack and Jim are going through, and they find where they truly belong.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'How can she help them all find freedom from the past? When Betsy's beloved grandfather dies in suspicious circumstances she is determined to find out the truth about his final hours. Even when she uncovers long held secrets in his past, she holds onto her belief in his goodness. But the journey to truth reveals issues in her own family and that of her father, from whom she has been estranged for many years. Can she face her own past? Set in the early colonial days of New South Wales and based on real characters in the mid 1800s.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In tragic circumstances Beth and her brothers are left in England to grow up without their parents. When Beth's childhood dream to be reunited with her father in Australia finally eventuates she finds that dreams do not always come true.

All that seems to follow is further abandonment. Will she ever find true love? And will she discover she doesn't have to be alone before it is too late?

'Set in the early days of New South Wales and based on real characters in the mid 1800s.

'Revisit Charlotte and Thomas from Charlotte's Angel and Mary's Guardian, and meet new characters in this new novel which is a tangled web of disappointment, deceit and mistakes.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A child growing up in uncontrollable and awkward circumstances, Charlotte Plumb must learn to strive for more than the legacy her mother leaves her. Thomas Douglass, is a strong, determined and caring young man. Rescuing Charlotte drives him, but how can the children of ex-convicts find love? With sadness and grief, joy and new birth, mystery, murder and romance the Douglass and Plumb families will intertwine over twenty years.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'William is transported to Australia, after years on the streets. Clinging to the hope of a better life, he looks for possibility in an unknown country. But being a convict isn't easy. When William finds and surprises young Mary with a proposal, their life together begins. Their journey from convict to family life is anything but happily ever after. Through grief, floods, triumphs, friendships, love and faith they grow in the harsh new country.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Rebecca Maher is a happily married woman, looking forward to the future with her husband, Andrew. Only one thing mars her peace. She is alienated from her sister, Mary. James Taylor, Mary's husband, is a cruel and bigoted man, who hates Rebecca because of her religious and political views. Rebecca, with the support of her husband and her sister-in-law and life long friend, Sarah Oakes, is determined to find a way to stop James from hurting her sister and her nieces and nephews. But Mary resists Rebecca's attempts to help. She is determined to hold onto hope that James will change, until one night when his temper causes devastating results and changes her life forever.

'The story also involves the families at home during World War 1.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A friendship that will last a lifetime begins just before Christmas in 1839 on a convict ship in Sydney Cove. Once on land Kathryn McGuire and Norah McCann are assigned to domestic duties in the city. However within a year their lives head in different directions. One will be reassigned to a farming family on the outskirts of the settlement, where she will marry an ex-convict who gives her new hope for the future. The other will meet a man whose Irish charm sweeps her off her feet, and whose unrepentant and continuing life of crime will bring her heartache and conflict all her days. These two families will be drawn together and also torn apart by the battle to raise a family and build a life in the expanding colony. But their greatest challenges will be in dealing with broken promises, learning to forgive, and accepting that sometimes it takes more than faith and friendship to bring about lasting peace of mind.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Rebecca Oakes is just thirteen when her mother, Suzannah, dies in the small town of Marengo, NSW in 1873. With her older brother and sisters soon involved in their own lives, Rebecca is left alone to care for her aging father. But Rebecca has a dream of her own, a dream to make something of her life, to make a difference in the world around her. However, it is not just her family constraints that stand in the way of Rebecca's dreams. The Australian society in the late 1800s is one where it is hardly possible for a woman to get an education, one where women have no property rights, no vote, no voice. Rebecca will have to fight the systems and structures of her time if she is to achieve her goals. She'll have to find the courage and strength to stand against sexual, religious and emotional pressures to make her way towards her dream, influenced by one man who hates her enough to do anything to thwart her plans, and another, who loves her enough to do anything to make her happy. ' (Publisher's blurb)

'Suzannah Casey was just twelve years old when she was transported to the Australian colony from Ireland. Though devastated by her circumstances she was grateful to be given an opportunity, through Caroline Chisholm's scheme for young girls, to start a new life on the Goulburn Plains with ex-convict, George Oakes. However, Suzannah could never have envisaged the trauma and loss that lay ahead of her. She must find the faith and courage to overcome abuse, disappointment, abandonment, illness, religious bigotry and finally her own yearnings in order to discover what is more precious than gold.' (Publisher's blurb)