The Imperialists

The Australians #12

by William Stuart Long

The 12th volume in the author's "Australians" series, this continues the story of the pioneers who carved out a life for themselves in the newly-formed colonies of Australia and New Zealand.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Australia, Historical

486 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Violet Vivian Finlay was born on 2 January 1914 in Berkshire, England, UK, the daughter of Alice Kathleen (née Norton) and Sir Campbell Kirkman Finlay. Her father was the owner and director of Burmah Oil Company Ltd., whose Scottish family also owned James Finlay and Company Ltd. The majority of her childhood and youth was spent in Rangoon, Burma (now also known as Myanmar), where her father worked. During her life, she frequently journeyed between India, Singapore, Java and Sumatra.

Although Vivian is well-known by the surname of Stuart, she married four times during her lifetime, and had five children: Gillian Rushton (née Porch), Kim Santow, Jennifer Gooch (née Stuart), and twins Vary and Valerie Stuart.

Following the dissolution of her first marriage, she studied for a time Law in London in the mid 1930s, before decided studied Medicine at the University of London. Later she spent time in Hungary in the capacity of private tutor in English, while she obtained a pathologist qualification at the University of Budapest in 1938. In 1939, she emigrated to Australia with her second husband, a Hungarian Doctor Geza Santow with whom she worked. In 1942, she obtained a diploma in industrial chemistry and laboratory technique at Technical Institute of Newcastle. Having earned an ambulance driver's certificate, she joined the Australian Forces at the Women's Auxiliary Service during World War II. She was attached to the IVth Army, and raised to the rank of sergeant, she was posted to British XIV Army in Rangoon, Burma in October 1945, and was then transferred to Sumatra in December. After the WWII, she returned to England. On 24 October 1958, she married her fourth and last husband, Cyril William Mann, a bank manager.

She was a prolific writer from 1953 to 1986 under diferent pseudonyms: Vivian Stuart, Alex Stuart, Barbara Allen, Fiona Finlay, V. A. Stuart, William Stuart Long and Robyn Stuart. Many of her novels were protagonized by doctors or nurses, and set in Asia, Australia or other places she had visited. Her romance novel, Gay Cavalier published in 1955 as Alex Stuart got her into trouble with her Mills & Boon editors when she featured a secondary story line featuring a Catholic male and Protestant female who chose to marry. This so-called "mixed marriage" touched nerves in the United Kingdom.

In 1960, she was a founder of the Romantic Novelists' Association, along with Denise Robins, Barbara Cartland, and others; she was elected the first Chairman (1961-1963). In 1970, she became the first woman to chair Swanwick Writers' Summer School.

Violet Vivian Finlay Porch Santow Stuart Mann passed away on August 1986 in Yorkshire, at age 72. She continued writing until her death.

Reviews

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished my 2nd read of 12 book series, "The Australians", after the first read 6 yrs ago. I began the 2nd read in Nov, 2018. This series is about the settling of Australia, from the first convicts transported from England, by ship, struggling to survive in a new land. They had nothing but the rags on their backs when they arrived. Finding food was a major problem until they could grow their own.
The series continues on with the many other struggles they, as well as those who followed them, faced as they tried to tame an inhospitable land. This series transported me back to those times & I didn't ever want to stop reading any of the 12 books. But, alas, I have finished the last book. I do believe the author had every intention of writing another book as, altho the final book, "The Imperialists", did tie up the ends & pieces, she did leave a big building block to use as a start for an additional book. However, she died before it could be written. I do plan on reading this series again, in a few years. I so thoroughly enjoyed it. It's become my very favorite series of all time.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a hard book to finish, knowing that it was the last of the series. The focus of the plots here are on the Austalian outback, some of the old ways of the Aborigines, and political events steaming outside Australia.

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

In lived this series and now it’s over. This is the last book in the 12 book Australian series. They’re all worth reading and when you’ve read them, drop me a line so we can talk about them. I wish there were more books in the series, but alas there is not. Enjoy

[Susan Pugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series when it first came out years ago. I hesitated to start them because of the covers. I know don’t judge a book by its cover but the cover made me think they were just romance novels. There was some romance in them but the books were so much more. If you read and enjoyed the bicentennial novels by John Jakes then you will definitely enjoy these. They’re like those but set in Australia.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sigh, thank goodness I am now done with the series! From heavy racism, egotists, mysoginistic behaviour, and a dose of good old romping lust, I am done!
The history of Australia is fascinating, but the last two books tended to be nothing more than a loose way of trying to find the way to end the series on a high. It failed in my opinion. Nothing really stood out for me.
Done and dusted, just like my old Akubra hat.