Author: Anna Romer
ISBN: 978-19-220-5242-1
RRP: $29.99
Lyrebird Hill is a story of the distant past and the recent past converging with the present. Written across two very different timelines Romer brings together the stories of Brenna and Ruby, two women who share a connection with the property of Lyrebird Hill.
Romer has written two distinct timelines and two leading ladies, both of whom grew up on Lyrebird Hill. I don’t want to say too much because there is a large element of mystery to the story and I would hate to ruin it for anyone.
The property of Lyrebird Hill has been passed down through the generations for over 100 years and it is still complete, even through drought and rough years none of the land has been sold off to help out.
In the 1800s there was an indigenous clan living on the land of Lyrebird Hill and there were some very mixed feelings about them being there. Brenna’s father wants to keep his land intact in an effort to keep the clan safe. Brenna spends lots of time with the clan, learning about all of the plants and herbs on the land and what they can be used for. Information which she keeps stored in a beautifully self-illustrated notebook that is never far from her side.
A bad crop sees Michael Magavin in dire straits financially and still determined not to sell off any of the land. In the end an associate offers a proposal which will keep Lyrebird Hill safe, it just means Brenna must marry him and move to Tasmania until she bears him a son. An arrangement which made my skin crawl but I am from a very different time. Rather than risk losing the family land that she loves Brenna agrees to the proposal, not unhappily either because she has been quite intrigued by Mr Whitby. It will be quite a transition for her to leave Lyrebird Hill and the Armidale area behind to move to Tasmania but she feels it is a necessary sacrifice for the safety of the family’s legacy.
Brenna soon comes to see a very different side of Mr Whitby once they are married and her time in Tasmania is quite lonely until she forms a very close friendship with Whitby’s sister Adele.
Alternating chapters focus on Ruby Cardel a young woman who spent much of her childhood at Lyrebird Hill, sometime after the tragic loss of her older sister Ruby and her mother moved into Armidale and the property was sold to a neighbor. The day Jamie died remains a mystery, whatever happened is locked away in Ruby’s mind – she has blocked out a year of her life and believes that it was all a tragic accident.
What will happen when she discovers that it wasn’t an accident? Slowly her life begins to come apart at the seams and glimpses of the past start returning.
Ruby is a beautifully drawn character, she incites such empathy even though there are times her insecurities make her a little painful to watch.
The story opens with her heading to an exhibition opening with her boyfriend. He is a well-known and gorgeous author who leaves her wondering, on a regular basis, why her? He could have anyone so why her. This is quite a common thought for a lot of people in relationships but it’s something Ruby really seems to struggle with.
Right from the beginning Rob seems not quite right for her. He is patronizing and just brushes away her fears. He doesn’t address them so they can work through them, just tries to brush them off with snippets from his books.
Ruby heads back home to Lyrebird Hill to find out what she can from the elderly neighbor who bought the property but things don’t quite go to plan.
The door that has been firmly bolted in her memory was unlocked when she studied her mum’s paintings at the exhibition but it isn’t until she returns home that the flow of memories starts to gain momentum.
Ruby’s story is told in present and past tense and the transition is quite rapid, one minute she’s in the present and going about her day and then she slips into the daydream of a returning memory and takes us with her.
Romer has woven the threads of this tale together remarkably well, even through three timelines the story never lacks cohesion and the flow is quite intense as it all moves towards the climactic coming together of all threads.
Lyrebird Hill is a story I love because it has elements of many genres and the central character is a booklover who ran away from home to open a bookstore – what a heavenly idea that is to me. The mystery woven into the history of both women is gripping and there were some fabulous twists in the story. There was a little romance and there was a side of history we often don’t get.
The way there were a couple of things that tied all of the threads so nicely together was convincingly done and even now as I sit and write this I am still connecting dots and putting pieces together, long after I closed the book.
Anna Romer is definitely batting 2 for 2 and I, personally, can’t wait to see what’s in store for us with number 3.
Some of our very lucky book club readers will also be reading Lyrebird Hill and I can not wait to hear what they have to say about it. Don’t forget to check back here for their thoughts.
They will also each have a question for Anna Romer in their comments and the best ones will be compiled for an upcoming author interview with Romer herself. I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
I loved this book. A story of two very different and very strong women at different points in history. Ruby who is still struggling with the death of her sister when they were young and Breena who has left her home and family to marry a man she doesn’t really know.
Both stories had me enraptured and I read the entire book in a day. Would highly recommend this novel.
My question for Anna Romer would be about Breena’s locket. I guess it confused me why her locket was left with her neighbor and didn’t stay in the family? Perhaps I missed something?
As if Ruby doesn’t have enough to contend with after the death of her older sister and at times best friend, once her amnesia begins to dim, she has to face the daunting possibility that she may have killed her sister, Jamie.
The always slightly fractured relationship with her mother becomes almost non existent when Ruby leaves home to start life on her own.
I absolutely LOVED Lyrebird Hill – right from the first page – I didn’t want it to finish as I was enjoying it so much, but I was happy with the ending. I love books, especially those by Australian authors who do justice to the Australian bush and the authors themselves. Anna Romer didn’t disappoint in any way.
I loved the two distinct but related story lines of Brenna and Ruby, totally unrelated on the surface but interwoven deeply in reality. I loved the treatment of the Australian bush so that I could smell the gum leaves. I loved that the book didn’t ever become syrupy or unrealistic. I’m finding a review of the content very difficult as. like Michelle, the last thing I want to do is reveal any of the twists and turns that make up the story.
As the gaps in Ruby’s memory return she is at once in more danger than she realises and also in the process of “finding herself.” The way Ruby recovers her memory, an entire year blocked from her mind after the trauma of being there when Jamie died, is done with mystery, sympathy, understanding and magic. This is a special book that will long hold a place of magic for me – now to find Thornwood House, Anna’s first novel, and read that.
I would ask Anna whether she has always had stories going around in her head, from when she was young and did she write those stories down as a child. If so, as I suspect she did, how much has changed in the way she approaches her work.
A fantastic opportunity and a big Thank You – to Beauty and Lace – I loved the book – to Simon and Schuster for releasing such a great Australian novel and above all, to Anna Romer for writing the kind of book that I love reading.
Wow, what a privledge to be able to read this book and comment on it.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and didn’t see the twist coming.. Which is great because I am one of those annoying people that can normally guess the ending..
I would recommend this book to anyone – I am a historical fiction fan and this book ticked that box but it was so much more.
I would be curious to ask the author which of the characters appealed the most to her.. I personally found I had more of a connection with Brenna however as the book wound on and Ruby found herself and her strength (rather than being down on herself so much) she began to appeal more and by the end I loved both characters equally.
Definitely worth a read – but make sure you don’t get interrupted as it’s a book you won’t want to put down!
Lyrebird Hill lived up to my expectations! I adore Australian Historical Novels. I love the way the story of the two main characters-Brenna and Ruby are intertwined through the centuries and I certainly had no problems following the descriptions of their lives, loves, tradgedies and their unending love for the land.
Anna Romer showed her thorough research on the Australian Bush, animals and the difference of the harsh 1800’s lifestyle and modern day living and the reprecussions of the Settlers interaction and Genocide of the Indigenous.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and had a well planned idea of reading this on my days off work. I couldn’t wait until then. It isn’t often I do highly recommend a book but this is one of the few I highly recommend.
My Question to Anna Romer would be about future novels:
‘Are you going to delve deeper into the dilemma of your characters admitting to having Aboriginal Bloodlines and the repercussions this has had in the past?
I was very much looking forward to reading Lyrebird Hill as a change to the usual Crime/Psychological thrillers I like to read. Initially I was a little unsure about swapping between characters but I soon found I was eagerly awaiting the next instalment for both Ruby and Brenna, and found that I could relate to both characters, making the story even more intriguing.
Once I got a few chapters in, I was unable to put this book down until I had finished, and at the end was left with that
“good book hangover” feeling – wishing it had not ended, and wanting more.
Being Tasmanian, I loved that link and also the many descriptions that made me feel like I was reading a familiar story.
I have passed this book on to my Mother who also loves to read, and will share it among other family and friends who have asked since hearing me recommend it.
*My question to Anna Romer is do you have your own links to Tasmania? The way you write makes me feel like you do, and that this is special place for you too.
I literally just finished reading Lyrebird Hill and I thought it was absolutely fabulous. What an absolutely wonderful and different storyline. It had a bit of everything in it, love, hate, happiness and sadness. In some moments it brought up so much emotion in me, so much despair for Brennan and all of the unjust things that were happening to her and also for Ruby and her complications in life. It was like reading 2 absolutely gripping stories in one. I found myself so keen to find out what was happening next, I was skipping words to find out what was about to happen. I’m not usually into stories from the 1800s but these parts of the book were so well written without any of the usual boring descriptions. The fact the book has the Aussie descriptions and scenes really made me feel like I could imagine the smells, sounds, wildlife etc. This book was sooo hard to put down. LOVED IT!
Oh, and my question for the author is, Were there any characters in the book that were based, even slightly, on people in your real life?
I found this novel to be very enjoyable and once started very difficult to put down, hence I completed reading it in just 2 sittings.
Anna Romer very skillfully brought together the stories of 2 women Brenna in 1898/99 and Ruby in 2013 with flashbacks to the tragic death of her sister Jamie in 1995.
Brenna and Ruby were greatgrandmother and greatgranddaughter.
Brenna’s father Michael was in financial difficulty and the Bank had given him 30 days to pay them or lose the property Lyrebird Hill. His friend Carsten Whitby offered to pay the money owing to the Bank if Brenna would agree to marry him and bear him a son. Carsten was twice her age, but in order to save the property she agreed to his proposal. After their marriage they left Lyrebird Hill and travelled to Carsten’s home Brayer House in Tasmania, which he shared with his sister Adele. Brenna and Adele became good friends, but unfortunately Carsten was not a good husband and she very soon came to hate him.
Brenna was imprisoned for the murder of her husband, but thanks to a cunning scheme by Adele was able to flee the prison and return to Lyrebird Hill.
Ruby was unable to remember the fateful day when her sister Jamie died it was totally blocked from her memory. Her and her mother Margaret left Lyrebird Hill after Jamie’s death and became estranged.
Ruby started having flashbacks, but it was only when she returned to Lyrebird Hill that she finally was able to put all the pieces together and discover the truth of what happened to Jamie and also discover the story of the life of her late greatgrandmother.
I most definitely would recommend this book.
I am very grateful to Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read this wonderful novel.
This book is another great read from Anna Romer. She is turning out to be a very interesting author
.I am midway through this wonderful book and am having trouble ‘putting it down’, the female characters are displaying such strength and I will give my final review in the next couple of days
thankyou for the opportunity to review Lyrebird Hill!
I was instantly drawn in and I loved reading both sides of the story.
Both Ruby and Brenna are amazing strong willed women.
What was the inspiration behind the book Lyrebird Hill??