BOOK CLUB: In A Great Southern Land

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Author: Mary-Anne O’Connor
ISBN: 9781489261496
RRP: $32.99
Publication Date: 18 March 2019
Publisher: HQ Fiction
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher

Mary-Anne O’Connor writes engaging historical fiction, I have read a couple of her earlier titles and loved them. I am really looking forward to one day getting to this one, though my copy hasn’t arrived.

In A Great Southern Land takes us further into the past as we head to the colonies in the 1850s. Convicts, the Gold Rush and the Eureka Stockade; this book is sure to have tension, excitement and some well-researched history that we may not have heard before.

Publisher Website Overview:

From the soft green hills of Ireland to the wild Shipwreck Coast of southern Victoria, the rich farm lands of New South Wales to the sudden battlefields of Ballarat, this is an epic story of the cost of freedom and the value of love in a far-flung corner of the world where a new nation struggles to be born.

1851: After the death of her father, young Eve Richards is destitute. Her struggle to survive sees her deported in chains to the colony of New South Wales, penniless and alone. But here in this strange new world fortune smiles on the spirited, clever Eve in the shape of a respectable job offer that will lead to a quiet, secure life. Then the fiery and charismatic Irishman Kieran Clancy crosses her path…

For Kieran Clancy, the kindest man on earth, and his brother Liam, the promise of free passage and land in this brave new world is a chance to leave the grief and starvation of County Clare behind. But while Liam works to farm their land, Kieran has the fire of gold-fever upon him and is drawn to the goldfields of Ballarat. As tensions grow on the goldfields, and with the blood of an Irish rebel still beating through his heart, Kieran finds himself caught up in the cataclysmic events at the Eureka Stockade and faces the decision of a lifetime: whether or not, when it comes to love, blood will remain thicker than water…

You can find Mary-Anne at her Website as well as on Facebook.

In A Great Southern Land is published by HQ Fiction and is available now where all good books are sold.

Thanks to HQ Fiction 15 of our Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading In A Great Southern Land so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear what our readers thought.


13 thoughts on “BOOK CLUB: In A Great Southern Land

  1. In a Great Southern Land by Mary-Anne O’Connor was a novel that I just couldnt put down.
    A historical fiction read, we start our story in 1851 when 2 brothers are granted land in Australia and along with family memebers make the enormous move from Ireland to Australia in search of what they hope is a new start in life.
    We also have young Eve Richards , a girl accused of a crime and set aboard a ship bound for the prison colony of Australia.
    Both excitement and dread within the mixture of the two families upon departing for Australia.
    Their paths will cross and not always for the best of reasons.
    This novel explores historical eras of Australia , interweaving them among the wonderful story lines.
    I would thoroughly recommend this novel.
    Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Harlequin Australia for allowing me to read and review this wonderful novel.

  2. Thank you to Harelquin Books and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read In a Great Southern Land . Mary-Anne O”Connor is a wonderful author and I congratulate her on such a very emotionally provoking story of peoples lives in the 1850’s. Her writing is so eloquent you can almost feel the characters emotions. I really enjoyed reading the descriptive narrative on the beauty and harshness of the Irish and Australian landscape and the towns that the characters lived in. It’s a story of the Clancy family that was granted land and a new freedom to come to Australia from Ireland. It describes the challanges that the migrants had to face coming to such a far away and wild country. One of the family members, Kieran Clancy was drawn to the Eureka mining fever. A broken soul but a man of kindness and dignity who had strong family values and yet felt segregated due to tremendous hardship. It is also a story of a convict servant Eve Richards who also had a hard life but yet due to good family up bringing survived all odds. She crossed paths with Kieran and the story unfolds with twists and turns that make it very hard to put the book down. This is a beautiful story not only about peoples lives but it relieves parts of Australian history and mateship.. Also most importantly a history of multiculturalism that still exists today where everyone calls Australia Home.

  3. In a Great Southern Land by Mary-Anne O’Connor is a story full of passions. The passion between a man and a woman, the passion between family members and a passion for equality
    This tale starts in Ireland in 1851 and travels to Australia as the country is settled and grows.It centres around the Clancys and their struggles in starting a new life in a new land
    Intertwined in this story, is the story of Eve a well educated girl who pays the price for events she got caught up in
    This is a love story, but it is so.much more. It also tells of the Eureka Stockade
    This is an evocative novel that transports you back in time.i really enjoyed learning a little more of Australia’s past. I had previously read Mary-Anne O’Connor’s book: War Flower and found In a Great Southern Land just as enjoyable.
    Thank you to Beauty and Lace and HQ Fiction for the opportunity to read and review this book

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