The Traitors

The Australians #3

by William Stuart Long

In the midst of bloodshed and rebellion a new generation struggled to be born...


Through hearbreak and tragic loss they had fashioned a new life in the land of their exile. But even now they could not rest securely. The courage of beautiful Abigail Tempest, newly arrived sixteen year old heiress to a vast land grant..the mettle of Justin Broome, with his father's adventurous blood running hot in his veins...the loyalty of Andrew Hawley and the passionate faith of Jenny Broome - all would be tested to their very limit.

A new generation struggled to put down roots in precarious soil as treacherous forces defied king and country, threatening to destroy everything the settlers had sacrificed so much to build.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Australia, Historical, Roman, Drama

621 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1981

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

[Andrea Michaels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, part of The Australians. Great.

[Misfit · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Traitors is the third is a fairly long series commonly referred to as The Australians. Former convict Jenny Taggert is back, still trying to make a go of the land; but prices are sky high after the flooding of the Hawkesbury River, and currency is in short supply, making rum the *coin of the realm* with The Rum Corps keeping that commodity fully under control (really, it's too hard to explain, go to the Wiki link if you want to know more). The old governor is out, and William Bligh is in (yes, that William Bligh), and he's set on changing a few things, and the boys in the Rum Corps are not thrilled about Bligh's new policies.

I did enjoy this book, and plan to continue the series, but as important as this bit of history is, I found it a bit boring with too many *cast members* and I lost track of them at times - YMMV. I very much enjoyed the parts that focused and Jenny and family or the dastardly Reverend Boskenna (he's a bad 'un) were a lot more entertaining. So, three stars for the Rum Corps and four for Jenny & family rounded out to 3.5 stars.

[D.A. Cairns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe the magic is wearing off. I didn't quite get into this installment of the Australians as much as the previous two. The focus is really on Governor Bligh towards whom my feelings are totally ambivalent even though he unquestionably did right by the free settlers and emancipists who thought highly of him.

I think the struggle between Bligh and the Rum Corps, led by Macarthur who comes across as thoroughly unlikeable, was inevitable but I kept hoping that popular support would save him. I don't know whether his response to the rebellion was honourable or childish.

The standard of writing is maintained by Long who I found out was actually a woman by the name of Vivien, and the history is fascinating but it didn't move me.

I'm too heavily involved in the historical narrative and the lives of the characters, both fictional and real, too do anything but carry on.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again with the history lesson! Gah! I only gave it 3 stars as the story toward the end started to become interesting! The main characters finally started to have a voice and this is important in this type of novel. I felt like I was back at school learning all the history of Australia. I live here and it is a very young country and our history is still being written but I found the constant paraphrasing of some of the well known historical figures tediously annoying in this novel!

[Malin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jenny strävar vidare med sin odling - nu som frigiven fånge och ensamstående mamma. Hon har hjälp av gamle Watt, till dess att en olycka händer: hon hjälper en nyss kommen nybyggare som blivit biten av en orm och när någon försöker släppa ut deras djur tar Watt nybyggarens musköt och skjuter i tron att det är infödingar. Det visar sig vara en soldat från New South Wales-kåren och han förvisas till Norfolk Island som straff.
Officerarna i kåren fortsätter att sko sig på kolonin via monopol på importerad rom - som används som betalningsmedel - som de säljer dyrt, samt genom att utnyttja fångarnas arbetskraft på egna ägor.
Detta tänker dock den nye guvernören sätta stopp för - vilket inte uppskattas…
***
Del tre i serien är precis lika spännande och intressant som de tidigare, när fakta och fiktion blandas till en upplysande roman om Australiens koloniserande. 
Och det finns ytterligare sju att läsa (men i e- och ljudboksform kommer del fyra först i slutet av månaden)... 🙂

[Michael Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nach dem Tod ihres Mannes lebt Jenny mit ihren Kindern auf ihrer Farm als ein alter Bekannter aus Kindertagen wieder in ihrem Leben auftaucht. Auch der 3.Teil ist supertoll und spannend. Ich finde die Geschichte Australiens sehr faszinierend und durch diese Saga komme ich immer wieder dazu etwas nach zu recherchieren. Ich bin wirklich begeistert.

[Anton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Den svagaste delen hittills men nog attans är det fortsatt väldigt trevlig lyssning. Intressant ut ett historiskt perspektiv och med karaktärer helt i min smak. Riktig skurkiga skurkar och hårt slitande godhjärtade eldsjälar som tampas om att kuva Australiens vildmarker. 3.5/5

[Darcy Delany]

Every book has more gripping tales than the last. A masterful writer.

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of history, this fictional account of Australia's second generation has drama and action. Long is a master story teller who wraps up the story in a satisfying package.

[Bonnie Staughton · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Traitors" by William Stuart Long is #3 in his "The Australians" series. I believe this is the 3rd book of this series that I've read but not necessarily in the right order.

Since I have been to Australia several years ago, I really enjoy reading about how the country was populated and the "lay of the land". I thoroughly enjoyed the story line and the characters Abigail Tempest, Jenny Broome, Andrew Hawley and Justin Broome. However, when the story shifted to in-depth accounts of the rebellion between the Rum Corps and Governor Bligh, my enthusiasm lagged. I was glad when the story went back to the main characters. I hope to obtain the rest of the books in this series and fill in the gaps.

[Carol Mandel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing on in The Australians series. Thoroughly enjoying learning the history of early Australia, though must admit, the politics of the infant colony were not as enjoyable to read, as the personal lives of the fictional characters. On to book 4 of this 12 book series! ( I had to scour Amazon to find used paperback copies of this series...and now have them all.)

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a little more dry than the others, but still compelling.