The Cattleman

by Joyce Dingwell

Robin was the only member of her family who had inherited her grandfather's love of the land. When her brother sold out to Tamar Warren, she couldn't bear the thought of leaving the sheep station. But, for reasons of his own, Tamar would only allow Robin to stay if she agreed to pose as his fiancee. Well, there was no harm in that, she supposed. It wasn't as if she was in danger of falling in love with the man....

Genres: Australia, Harlequin Romance

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1974

About the author

Enid Joyce Owen Dingwell, née Starr, was born on 1908 in Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. She wrote, as Joyce Dingwell and Kate Starr, 80 romance novels for Mills & Boon from 1931 to 1986. She was the first Australian writer living in Australia to be published by Mills & Boon. Her novel The House in the Timberwood (1959), was made into a motion picture, The Winds of Jarrah (1983). Her work was particularly notable for its use of the Australian land, culture, and people. She passed away on 2 August 1997 in Kincumber, New South Wales.

Reviews

[MissKitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very old harlequin a lot of story but quite low on the romance. I never felt that the characters fell in love with each other. The story seemed to focus more on the relationship of the heroine and the young boy.

I liked the other book (Wife to Sim), of this author much better.

[Margo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was angst-inspiring for all the wrong reasons: it is terrible. Every single person in it was terrible. The writing was truly terrible. The plot was terrible. Terrible.

P.S. Terrible.

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This had the potential to be good. The author set an effective scene and really seemed to capture the essential rhythm of country life and speech. She also created a worthy, self-sufficient heroine who can hold her own with any man on the sheep station. Then, having built this structure, the author proceeded to weigh it down with contrived situations, conflict based on stupid misunderstandings and a hero who consistently belittles the heroine for her bad decisions, lack of femininity and poor homemaking skills. Yikes. Even for the seventies that's rough. By the three-quarter mark, I was skimming just to get through it.

[KSHG · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF couldn't get past page 2. Too much backstory with too many characters, too soon.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't care much for this hero. He was too critical of the heroine and seemed to constantly compare her unfavorably with other women.