What do you think?
Rate this book
Silver in the Sun
When handsome young Ian Richardson inherits Kanimbla, a vast merino stud property in the Queensland Murrawee district, there's great speculation about whether he'll sell and take the money and run back to England. But Ian soon proves himself to be a capable boss, earning the respect of his employees, and winning hearts too, especially that of the beautiful Fiona McDonald.
Ian finds Kanimbla threatened by falling wool prices, and works hard to give the property a new direction. The energy brings is infectious, and when he suggests that the community pull together to rescue their dying township, even the most reluctant sheep farmers and cattlemen stand up to be counted. Then Ian receives a letter from his parents' estate, and suddenly everything is thrown into question.
'An inspiring tale of one man's courage and vision'
LAKES POST
'This bestselling author delivers the goods again . . . I couldn't put it down.'
SOUTH COAST REGISTER
- GenresAustralia
384 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2008
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Tony Parsons
11 books21 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Credited as Tony Parsons on his works.
Anthony David Parsons, OAM, has worked as a professional sheep and wool classer, a journalist, news editor and rural commentator, a consultant to major agricultural companies, and an award-winning breeder of animals and show poultry. He owned his first kelpie dog in 1944, and in 1950 established 'Karrawarra', one of the top kelpie studs in Australia. In 1992 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his contribution to the propagation of the Australian kelpie.
His novels, The Call of the High Country, Return to the High Country, Valley of the White Gold and Silver in the Sun, have all been bestsellers. He is also the author of Training the Working Kelpie, The Australian Kelpie and, in 2010, The Kelpie, now regarded as classic works on the breed.
Tony lives with his wife, Gloria, near Toowoomba. He still maintains a keen interest in kelpie breeding.
Credited as Tony Parsons on his works.
Anthony David Parsons, OAM, has worked as a professional sheep and wool classer, a journalist, news editor and rural commentator, a consultant to major agricultural companies, and an award-winning breeder of animals and show poultry. He owned his first kelpie dog in 1944, and in 1950 established 'Karrawarra', one of the top kelpie studs in Australia. In 1992 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his contribution to the propagation of the Australian kelpie.
His novels, The Call of the High Country, Return to the High Country, Valley of the White Gold and Silver in the Sun, have all been bestsellers. He is also the author of Training the Working Kelpie, The Australian Kelpie and, in 2010, The Kelpie, now regarded as classic works on the breed.
Tony lives with his wife, Gloria, near Toowoomba. He still maintains a keen interest in kelpie breeding.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 5, 2016
3.5★s
This is an easy, pleasant read which is an intriguing combination of serious issues and unrealistic relationships. Although I enjoyed reading the book, I am left with a slight feeling of unease about elements of the story.
The main character is Ian Richardson, a reserved young Englishman of about 19 years, who travels from Cambridgeshire to outback Queensland, eventually to take up a vast pastoral property which is his inheritance.
The author uses Ian's inquisitive nature as a device to cast an eye over several controversial issues which have dogged the wool industry in recent years. Flock numbers have plummeted in the past couple of decades, and rising costs have made the production of high quality fleeces very difficult. Australia produces the finest wool in the world, yet profits continue to fall. Parsons suggests that bad government policies and poor marketing have been major contributors to the parlous state of the industry now. An unfortunate spin-off of the poor performance of wool producers is the impact on small rural townships, with the loss of local businesses and populations.
With a large inheritance, Ian throws himself into resurrecting the languishing fortunes of the grazing property Kanimbla, which has been in his family for many generations. A quiet, studious type, he is full of clever ideas for reversing the downward trend. Not content with saving his personal property, Ian instigates a number of initiatives, and injects plenty of his personal funds to kick-start the recovery of his local community of Murrawee, near Roma, in western Queensland.
On arrival in Murrawee, a complete unknown, he meets the beautiful Fiona, resident of a neighbouring property, and finds himself attracted to her. The feeling is definitely mutual, and Fiona throws herself enthusiastically into Ian's projects and personal life, hoping that she might secure his affections. However, he remains cool and detached, because he is working to a bigger picture.
Other locals are redolent with the sort of rural Aussie traits that we can reliably expect from rural lit novels. There are several wise, older blokes, with decades of experience in the industry. There's the local town tart, the enigmatic writer living in self-imposed isolation, and the dutiful wives who keep house and churn out endless dinners to support their menfolk. Hmm, quite a few cliches, methinks!
I really appreciated Parsons' scrutiny of the woes of the Australian wool industry. It is something that he is clearly passionate about, and I gained a good understanding of where the stumbling blocks lie. I think his portrayal of tiny town life in the western division is pretty realistic.
What was not realistic, in my opinion, was the portrayal of Ian as a silent philanthropist, dead set on using his personal fortune to buy the town out of the doldrums. While I liked some aspects of the personality of this key character, I found other parts of his make-up and actions totally unbelievable. With seemingly limitless funds, Ian can buy just about anything he thinks is desirable, be it a caravan park for the township or a swimming pool for the staff. He is always portrayed as being altruistic, but it felt really contrived to me.
This is an easy, pleasant read which is an intriguing combination of serious issues and unrealistic relationships. Although I enjoyed reading the book, I am left with a slight feeling of unease about elements of the story.
The main character is Ian Richardson, a reserved young Englishman of about 19 years, who travels from Cambridgeshire to outback Queensland, eventually to take up a vast pastoral property which is his inheritance.
The author uses Ian's inquisitive nature as a device to cast an eye over several controversial issues which have dogged the wool industry in recent years. Flock numbers have plummeted in the past couple of decades, and rising costs have made the production of high quality fleeces very difficult. Australia produces the finest wool in the world, yet profits continue to fall. Parsons suggests that bad government policies and poor marketing have been major contributors to the parlous state of the industry now. An unfortunate spin-off of the poor performance of wool producers is the impact on small rural townships, with the loss of local businesses and populations.
With a large inheritance, Ian throws himself into resurrecting the languishing fortunes of the grazing property Kanimbla, which has been in his family for many generations. A quiet, studious type, he is full of clever ideas for reversing the downward trend. Not content with saving his personal property, Ian instigates a number of initiatives, and injects plenty of his personal funds to kick-start the recovery of his local community of Murrawee, near Roma, in western Queensland.
On arrival in Murrawee, a complete unknown, he meets the beautiful Fiona, resident of a neighbouring property, and finds himself attracted to her. The feeling is definitely mutual, and Fiona throws herself enthusiastically into Ian's projects and personal life, hoping that she might secure his affections. However, he remains cool and detached, because he is working to a bigger picture.
Other locals are redolent with the sort of rural Aussie traits that we can reliably expect from rural lit novels. There are several wise, older blokes, with decades of experience in the industry. There's the local town tart, the enigmatic writer living in self-imposed isolation, and the dutiful wives who keep house and churn out endless dinners to support their menfolk. Hmm, quite a few cliches, methinks!
I really appreciated Parsons' scrutiny of the woes of the Australian wool industry. It is something that he is clearly passionate about, and I gained a good understanding of where the stumbling blocks lie. I think his portrayal of tiny town life in the western division is pretty realistic.
What was not realistic, in my opinion, was the portrayal of Ian as a silent philanthropist, dead set on using his personal fortune to buy the town out of the doldrums. While I liked some aspects of the personality of this key character, I found other parts of his make-up and actions totally unbelievable. With seemingly limitless funds, Ian can buy just about anything he thinks is desirable, be it a caravan park for the township or a swimming pool for the staff. He is always portrayed as being altruistic, but it felt really contrived to me.
December 13, 2025
—————————
👎🏻🤠🥰My Book Review 🥰🤠👍🏻
My rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Genres: romance, rural romance, outback station
Age Rating: 15+
For people who..:
Love rural romance
My Opinion:
Second in the series I loved it again. The history the story the characters the landscape. Having worked in a near about area of where the book was based in you could easily depict the scene and the goings on.
Will I read it again? Yes
Will I buy the book? Yes
Song that suits it: forever after all. Luke combs
❤️❤️Happy reading❤️❤️
👎🏻🤠🥰My Book Review 🥰🤠👍🏻
My rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Genres: romance, rural romance, outback station
Age Rating: 15+
For people who..:
Love rural romance
My Opinion:
Second in the series I loved it again. The history the story the characters the landscape. Having worked in a near about area of where the book was based in you could easily depict the scene and the goings on.
Will I read it again? Yes
Will I buy the book? Yes
Song that suits it: forever after all. Luke combs
❤️❤️Happy reading❤️❤️
February 26, 2019
I'm a bit confused by this book. The author states he wrote it to promote the Queensland wool industry, but I'm really not sure who he's promoting to. It's basically a romance set against the backdrop of a sheep farm.
It's nicely written and very readable but the main character just happens to be young, good looking, rich, incredibly intelligent and dedicated to good causes, it's all just a bit too heavy handed.
It's nicely written and very readable but the main character just happens to be young, good looking, rich, incredibly intelligent and dedicated to good causes, it's all just a bit too heavy handed.
May 28, 2018
An unusual book in that it starts out as if it will be a "chick lit" type, and perhaps it is, but the author is sufficiently skilled to be able to make it very interesting (at least for me), as well as making it a romance. Not my usual type of book, but once I started reading it I read a few chapters each day, and was very happy with the skill of his writing as well as the ending.
November 23, 2019
Great book will read again. Very Australian good story line. Will read more of Tony Parsons
April 20, 2020
I thought this book was ok. It definitely had a feel of western Queensland about it. It didn't wow me though. It was just a nice light read.
February 17, 2021
Easy read. However a little unrealistic to think the average 19 year would be so committed to all these good causes. Still enjoyable reading
September 10, 2012
I wanted to like this book as it was set around Toowoomba and western Downs area so I was nostalgic, but the main character was a 19 year old who acted like he was 70; not believable and didn’t make for a compelling story. Recommend Barbara Hannay’s Zoe’s Muster or The Bridesmaid Says I Do for the bush setting and a bit of heart. But I did love the setting!!
December 30, 2012
Okay, but not as good as a Rachel Treasure's book.
May 16, 2013
I love the way this author writes. More along the lines of what life on the land is really about.
April 12, 2015
A nice good read about outback community coming together, sheep prices and the ups and downs of the man on the land in the harsh Australian climate.
July 14, 2015
Enjoyed the imagery of western Queensland and the stoicism in face if the harsh natural and economic climate.
February 24, 2016
This is the third book from this author that I have read and its just as good as the others. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews