Cirrus@Austlit

'Glasgow 1948. Twenty-three-year-old sculptor Ellie (Eilean) Gilmartin grew up in the shadow of her father’s torment following his British Army service in World War I. Believing her mother died when she was a toddler, the revelation that Finella left her husband and daughter, leads Ellie to travel to Australia (the country of Finella’s birth) to find out why. After bureaucratic obstacles, psychological and physical threats Ellie discovers the truth about her parents’ difficult lives, in the process learning that she cannot change the past, nor assume responsibility for the deeds of her parents but recognise their transgressions – and leave their tragic heritage behind.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

''Tis the doing, not the deed, follows Apolline a headstrong French lawyer, and her mild-mannered Australian husband, Parry, an investigator for an art auction house, as they investigate the provenance of paintings (belonging to a deceased estate) by two 20^th-century Australian artists, before the works are put up for sale. There is also uncertainty regarding the provenance of similar works in museums that were victims of Nazi appropriation during World War II.

'In that deceased (Styming) estate there are not only artworks missing but also one of the heirs. Apolline flies to London to finalise the Styming inheritance only to be held prisoner by three of the heirs who demand she allocate them greater shares of their father's wealth. Apolline is rescued, the Styming heirs are arrested and the family's art collection withdrawn from auction.

'Six months later, while Parry is visiting his seriously-ill mother in Australia, the mysteries surrounding the Styming art collection re-surface. Although Apolline has promised Parry not to risk her safety again by trying to find the missing artworks, she cannot resist the temptation and is caught in a dangerous intrigue that leads to a dramatic and explosive conclusion: the artworks are found and saved but the Styming house is destroyed.

'More dangerous yet, is the moment when Apolline faces the white-hot fury of Parry who learns of her activities. 'Tis the doing, not the deed combines flawed allegiance, greed and warped ambition in a tale of love and hate, dominance and disobedience that spans a century: from World War I to the present day.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Fourteen-year-old Fingal O’Grady is convicted of theft and transported to Australia in the 1820s. Almost two centuries later, fourteen-year-old would-be beautician Abigail Harrington finds a mysterious spider amulet and their two worlds collide. When both children are kidnapped they realise they’re in possession of an object with enormous power. The Peacock Spider of Tien Shan leads them on an exciting and dangerous journey where nothing is what it seems.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Art historian Steggall looks at Joan Kerr's life and her considerable achievements in setting out new parameters for art and architectural history. Original, entertaining and often controversial, Joan Kerr was a one of a kind scholar. ' (Source: Libraries Australia)