Cirrus@Austlit

'Hannah Rigby was a poor Liverpool seamstress, a prisoner and a serial thief. Exiled from her homeland, oppressed by poverty and rigid social mores, used and discarded by a series of men. An “exemplary” servant who was fond of a lark – and a single mother determined to keep her family together.

'One Free Woman tells the true, compelling story of the only female convict to stay in Moreton Bay when the penal settlement closed – a woman who notoriously served three separate sentences of transportation, including two to one of the harshest establishments in the country.

'It is a heartbreaking and sensitively told story of a life that was typical of many women of the time struggling against poverty and gender inequality – women whose voices throughout history have seldom been heard. One Free Woman reveals new information and celebrates a remarkable woman who, despite a lifetime of immeasurable suffering and loss, could somehow still summon the joy to dance until she dropped.' (Publication summary)

'As flies the shadow, so does life.

'In Scotland, 1826, Meggy McKessar comes to live and work at John Lovie’s Aberdeenshire farm. John’s widowed mother is warned Meggy will bring trouble, but she refuses to listen; all she wants is to for the rumours about John’s sordid past to be forgotten forever. But when a sudden death casts suspicion on the widow’s favourite son, the life she has so desperately tried to preserve threatens to fall apart.

'Based on a sensational true crime, Three Times Buried is a sinister tale of torn loyalties, secrets, superstition and murder.'  (Publication summary)

'Exposing Captain Starlight’s twisted life of crime and deceit.   

'Who was ‘Captain Starlight’?
'When a respectable public servant dies suddenly under suspicious circumstances, the authorities are baffled. Who really was the dead man? Was he an Irish nobleman fallen on hard times – or a conman, a forger, a serial impostor, a killer?
As an investigation peels back the layers of deception, aliases and lies, a bizarre chain of events is revealed, exposing the deceased as a man guilty of a string of audacious crimes spanning decades – crimes including identity theft and murder.
In The Killer's Game, Jane Smith has pieced together the scattered clues to the dead man's background, uncovering the true story of the life and crimes of the 19th-century enigma once known as Frank Pearson – or Captain Starlight.' (Publication summary)

'When Carly Mills goes to Melbourne with the school choir, she gets more than she bargained for: a trip back in time and a chance meeting with a mischievous little girl who might just grow up to be the world famous opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba. If Carly is to help the little girl achieve her dream, she will have to endure Nellie’s practical jokes, an angry headmaster, and her father’s belief that opera is not a fit career for a lady. Not to mention Simone’s bad moods and Dora’s terrible singing.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Carly learns just what it means to be strong and brave when her magical shawl takes her back to 1891 and into the path of Queensland's first female doctor, Lilian Cooper.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'It's not easy coming to the city all alone when you're a young country girl. It's even harder when a strange discovery sends you back in time to 1841! Carly Mills is about to learn how dangerous Sydney can be for a lonely colonial girl .. and how hard it is to move in a corset! Caroline Chisholm tells her that kindness and friendship can make the world a better place. Could Mrs Chisholm be right?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A significant new series featuring Carly Mills, a modern time-traveller transported to Australia's colonial past.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When Tommy Bell’s father’s car breaks down on a road trip, Tommy and Martin are stranded overnight in a motel room in a strange country town. Things get even weirder when Tommy finds himself roaming the deserted streets on a moonlit night, way back in 1869. But wait – is that an armed robbery in progress? And who is that masked man?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When Tommy goes on a trip to an Outback farm with his friend Martin, he thinks that his biggest problem will be Francis, his former friend who has gate-crashed the holiday. He doesn’t expect to run into his old enemy, Frank Gardiner. Frank is on the run from the law and will do anything to keep Tommy from revealing his true identity. And Tommy is about to learn why the bushranger is so desperate to stay out of jail!'  (Publication summary)

'Captain Thunderbolt's girlfriend, Mary Ann Bugg is clever, kind and strong. So why does she stick around with Captain Thunderbolt, when trouble follows him wherever he goes? Can Tommy help rescue her from prison?' (Publication summary)

'School camp can be fun, but not when it's run by a nasty bully who picks on Tommy Bell and his friends. But when Tommy's magic cabbage tree hat takes him back in time to meet up with Ben Hall and his gang, Tommy discovers that even in the gold rush days there were bullies ... and they were on both sides of the law! They also really knew how to make trouble ... '(Production summary)

'Tommy Bell’s safe outback holiday on a farm with Martin and Combo is turned upside down when Martin finds a pair of magic old bushranger’s boots. This time, when Tommy’s cabbage-tree hat sends him back to the past, his friend Martin is right there beside him.

'The boys join their new friend, Harry, and his gang on a long cattle-droving expedition across Outback Australia. For once it seems as if a journey to the past might be pure, fun adventure, without any risk of running into bushrangers. But why did Harry lie about his past? And who are the ‘thievin’’ McKenzies? It looks like Tommy and Martin’s ‘Outback Adventure’ might be more dangerous than they expected ...' (Publication summary)

'Tommy Bell, Bushranger Boy is a series featuring Tommys time travelling escapades that take him face-to-face with some of Australias most notorious bushrangers. The hero of the series, Tommy Bell, lives in regional NSW in contemporary times but is able to travel back in time to the gold rush days by wearing an old bushranger's hat that he discovered on his grandfather's farm. Each book brings Tommy and his friends up close and personal with one of the outlaws - sometimes as accidental accomplices and other times as victims. With each adventure there is plenty of danger and excitement: armed hold-ups, sieges, frauds, shoot-outs, police chases, jail-time and much more.While the series' main focus is the bushranging adventures, each book contains a parallel story from Tommy's twenty-first century life that tests his friendships and develops his character.While Tommy and his friends are fictional, each bushranging adventure in the series is based on a true story. Book 3 - The Gold Escort Gang-When Tommy Bell finds himself caught in a struggle between two friends, he decides to take a break from it all and escape...back to 1862! Tommy's magic cabbage-tree hat sends him back once again to the gold rush days, when he stumbles into more trouble than he left behind. Face-to-face with the dangerous Frank Gardiner and his mates 'Flash Jack' and Ben Hall, Tommy learns about the value of true friendship...and about how it feels to be part of one of most infamous robberies in Australia's history!' (Publication summary)

'Tommy Bell is happy when the popular new kid at school wants him to join his gang. His new friend is trouble but he's not half as much trouble as the bushranger that Tommy meets when his magic hat takes him back to the gold rush days. Tommy finds himself in the middle of a horse robbery, a police chase and a prison escape!' (Publication summary)

'Tommy Bell has been sent to work on his grandparents' farm for the school holidays. He doesn't want to go, but when he discovers an old bushranger's hat hidden in a cave, everything changes. Suddenly he is sent back to the gold rush days and finds himself face-to-face with the bushranger Captain Thunderbolt! At first, the life of a bushranger seems full of thrills and adventure. But Tommy soon learns that it is full of danger as well...' .(Publication summary)

'Tommy Bell, Bushranger Boy is a series featuring Tommy's time travelling escapades that take him face-to-face with some of Australia's most notorious bushrangers. The hero of the series, Tommy Bell, lives in regional NSW in contemporary times but is able to travel back in time to the gold rush days by wearing an old bushranger's hat that he discovered on his grandfather's farm. Each book brings Tommy and his friends up close and personal with one of Australia's well known outlaws. With each adventure there is plenty of danger and excitement: armed hold-ups, sieges, frauds, shoot-outs, police chases, jailtime and much more. Each book cleverly incorporates a parallel story from Tommy's twenty-first century life that tests his friendships and develops his character'. (Publication summary)