‘Trim, knowledgeable writing which firmly plants its men, horses, and myths in the framework of a tough pastoral’ said The Observer about Donald Stuart’s last novel, The Driven. Once again there is the stamp of reality in Yaralie and the masterly economy of phrasing which readers of Donald Stuart will expect. He not only knows but conveys the strange, hard, fascinating life he describes - about looking for gold, making camps, shooting kangaroo, and the struggle for existence when things get tough and gold becomes hard to find.
As in The Driven, this novel is an evocation of the remote Australian territories first peopled by the blacks, and in addition, a plea for understanding and tolerance of the coloured people. Donald Stuart understands more than country, he understands people. We follow the fortunes of Yaralie, a coloured girl born of a white father and a half-caste mother, from an early age until she falls in love. The story has authenticity and controlled power and brings to life the harshness of the Australian outback and the courage of the people who work out their lives there.
(Source: Yaralie, 1963)
