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Wild Island
'My name is Harriet Adair, and forty years ago on that ship I was Jane Eyre's companion. That voyage also brought me friendship with another intrepid Jane: Lady Franklin. Her husband, Sir John, the Arctic Lion, was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land during the six turbulent years when Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester had good reason to be closely interested in the island.'
Harriet Adair has come to Van Diemen's Land with Mrs Anna Rochester, who is recovering from years of imprisonment in the attic of 'Thornfield Hall'. Sent to the colony by Jane and Rochester, they are searching for the truth about Anna's past, trying to unearth long-buried secrets.
Captain Charles O'Hara Booth, Commandant of Port Arthur Penal Settlement, fears some secrets of his own will be discovered when Sir John Franklin replaces Colonel Arthur as Governor. Franklin and his wife Jane arrive in Hobart Town to find the colony is run by a clique of Arthur's former army officers who have no intention of relinquishing their power.
This dazzling modern recreation of a nineteenth century novel ingeniously entwines Jane Eyre's iconic love story with Sir John Franklin's great tale of exploration and empire. A brilliant and historically accurate depiction of Van Demonian society in the 1800s, as well as a vivid portrayal of the human cost of colonisation, Wild Island shows us that fiction and history are not so different after all. Each story, whether it be truth or fiction, is shaped by its teller.
Harriet Adair has come to Van Diemen's Land with Mrs Anna Rochester, who is recovering from years of imprisonment in the attic of 'Thornfield Hall'. Sent to the colony by Jane and Rochester, they are searching for the truth about Anna's past, trying to unearth long-buried secrets.
Captain Charles O'Hara Booth, Commandant of Port Arthur Penal Settlement, fears some secrets of his own will be discovered when Sir John Franklin replaces Colonel Arthur as Governor. Franklin and his wife Jane arrive in Hobart Town to find the colony is run by a clique of Arthur's former army officers who have no intention of relinquishing their power.
This dazzling modern recreation of a nineteenth century novel ingeniously entwines Jane Eyre's iconic love story with Sir John Franklin's great tale of exploration and empire. A brilliant and historically accurate depiction of Van Demonian society in the 1800s, as well as a vivid portrayal of the human cost of colonisation, Wild Island shows us that fiction and history are not so different after all. Each story, whether it be truth or fiction, is shaped by its teller.
448 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2016
11 people are currently reading
257 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
January 3, 2019
Just could not get into this one very convoultednot for me
April 4, 2017
I read in the acknowledgements that this novel was written over forty years and honestly I felt that it took me almost as long to read it. The premise was an interesting one. Jane Eyre meets Tassie....well not exactly but there is a connection. However as fascinating as some of the historical references and places were...places I actually visited and love in Tasmania the story just did not grab me. Whilst I liked some of the characters, overall I felt let down by what I think was a longwinded execution of this story, that at times didn't seem to be going anywhere. I think if it wasn't for familiar places like Port Arthur, Richmond, Hobart, St Clair, Huon Valley and the description of the Tasmanian countryside which really doesn't seem to have changed much since the mid 1800's, I probably wouldn't have persevered with this novel.
October 13, 2016
‘Reader, she did not marry him.
Or rather, when at last she did, it was not so straightforward as she implies in her memoirs.’
This novel is set in the nineteenth century, in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania). The narrative is split into two, alternating between Charles O’Hara Booth (the commandant of the penal settlement at Port Arthur during the 1830s) and Harriet Adair, who has replaced Grace Poole as the companion and nursemaid to Bertha Mason. Yes, Gentle Reader, Jane Eyre makes an appearance within these pages. And she does marry Edward Rochester – eventually – but not quite the way we readers of ‘Jane Eyre’ have come to believe.
It’s an interesting juxtaposition: a mystery concerning Edward Rochester, Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason woven around historical characters in Van Diemen’s Land. Those sections involving Harriet Adair provide a sequel to Jane Eyre, while the sections involving Charles O’Hara Booth introduce us to a number of historical figures including Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur, John and Elizabeth Gould, Sir John and Lady Jane Franklin.
Readers of Jane Eyre will need to assume that Bertha Mason survived the fire at Thornfield Hall, and that there are questions about her earlier life which can only be explored by travelling to Van Diemen’s Land. And once in Van Diemen’s Land, the distinction between the historical and fictional characters blur as Harriet Adair finds her way in Van Demonian society. There are plenty of twists and turns as Harriet Adair tries to find out more about the mystery of Bertha Mason’s past.
For me personally, the search for the truth about Bertha Mason’s past (no spoilers here) was less important. While it’s the reason why Harriet Adair is in Van Diemen’s Land and provides the impetus for much of her action, this part of the story was very much secondary for me. What I loved was the depiction of the historical characters, the description of society, the politics and machinations. Harriet Adair fits right into this world, which is a tribute to Ms Livett’s writing skill.
‘I thought of the rules men had made for us women to live by, and how sometimes we must ignore these and live by our own rules.’
Harriet Adair does as a fictional character largely live by her own rules. But Charles O’Hara Booth is constrained by both society and history. Running the penal settlement at Port Arthur is difficult (there’s nothing new about politics in prisons) and while he falls in love and wants to marry, he worries about whether he can afford to. Sir John and Lady Jane Franklin have their own trials and tribulations. Life in Van Diemen’s Land was never easy, especially for those who look to Britain as home.
If you enjoy historical fiction set in colonial Tasmania, I recommend this novel. The Jane Eyre connection mostly worked for me although it wasn’t central to my enjoyment of the novel. This is Ms Livett’s debut novel, and I’d certainly be interested in reading any other novels she might write.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Or rather, when at last she did, it was not so straightforward as she implies in her memoirs.’
This novel is set in the nineteenth century, in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania). The narrative is split into two, alternating between Charles O’Hara Booth (the commandant of the penal settlement at Port Arthur during the 1830s) and Harriet Adair, who has replaced Grace Poole as the companion and nursemaid to Bertha Mason. Yes, Gentle Reader, Jane Eyre makes an appearance within these pages. And she does marry Edward Rochester – eventually – but not quite the way we readers of ‘Jane Eyre’ have come to believe.
It’s an interesting juxtaposition: a mystery concerning Edward Rochester, Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason woven around historical characters in Van Diemen’s Land. Those sections involving Harriet Adair provide a sequel to Jane Eyre, while the sections involving Charles O’Hara Booth introduce us to a number of historical figures including Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur, John and Elizabeth Gould, Sir John and Lady Jane Franklin.
Readers of Jane Eyre will need to assume that Bertha Mason survived the fire at Thornfield Hall, and that there are questions about her earlier life which can only be explored by travelling to Van Diemen’s Land. And once in Van Diemen’s Land, the distinction between the historical and fictional characters blur as Harriet Adair finds her way in Van Demonian society. There are plenty of twists and turns as Harriet Adair tries to find out more about the mystery of Bertha Mason’s past.
For me personally, the search for the truth about Bertha Mason’s past (no spoilers here) was less important. While it’s the reason why Harriet Adair is in Van Diemen’s Land and provides the impetus for much of her action, this part of the story was very much secondary for me. What I loved was the depiction of the historical characters, the description of society, the politics and machinations. Harriet Adair fits right into this world, which is a tribute to Ms Livett’s writing skill.
‘I thought of the rules men had made for us women to live by, and how sometimes we must ignore these and live by our own rules.’
Harriet Adair does as a fictional character largely live by her own rules. But Charles O’Hara Booth is constrained by both society and history. Running the penal settlement at Port Arthur is difficult (there’s nothing new about politics in prisons) and while he falls in love and wants to marry, he worries about whether he can afford to. Sir John and Lady Jane Franklin have their own trials and tribulations. Life in Van Diemen’s Land was never easy, especially for those who look to Britain as home.
If you enjoy historical fiction set in colonial Tasmania, I recommend this novel. The Jane Eyre connection mostly worked for me although it wasn’t central to my enjoyment of the novel. This is Ms Livett’s debut novel, and I’d certainly be interested in reading any other novels she might write.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
December 6, 2016
I was quite disappointed in this story. What was it trying to be? Was it a potted history of the early settlement of Tasmania? Was it a 'what if' moment about Jane Eyre and Rochester? The original premise was good, but it seemed to lose something in the telling. The number of characters and storylines that Livett tried to follow in the Hobart/Port Arthur/ Franklins section of the story just turned into a jumble for me, and became very difficult to follow. She had clearly done a great deal of research and just tried to fit too much of it into one story. For me, this complexity just didn't work.
I think that Livett would have been better to choose one part of the story and tell it in better depth - for instance, the story of Sir John Franklin and the wonderful Jane was fascinating, but lost in the mire of other subplots.
I think that Livett would have been better to choose one part of the story and tell it in better depth - for instance, the story of Sir John Franklin and the wonderful Jane was fascinating, but lost in the mire of other subplots.
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January 23, 2018At first alternating stories of the fictional character of Harriet Adair, accompanying Bertha/Anna Mason (Rochester's first wife) to Van Diemen's Land to search for Edward Rochester's long-lost older brother Rowland; and of the historical figure Captain Booth, the commandant of Port Arthur Penal Settlement, who deals with the assignment and escapes of convicts while hiding a past secret shame that prevents him initially from marrying his true love Lizzie. Once Harriet and Anna land in Hobart, the stories become entwined and become a speculative history of the politics and society of it seems almost everyone who was in the colony in the 1830s. The through thread of why Rowland Rochester and whether or not he married Bertha before Edward did, is picked up sporadically to weave these tales together. There is a wealth of historical research presented in this story, and I think it would have been better served without the conceit and framing of the fictional elements from Jane Eyre. As speculative history, this book paints an intensely rich landscape of 1830s Tasmania.
October 2, 2017
Trigger warnings: fire, mental health, incarceration, death of an infant, probably a bunch of other stuff that I didn't read far enough to get to.
DNF on page 175.
I honestly thought this book was going to be a slam dunk for me. I mean, Jane Eyre plus Tasmanian colonial history? Both of those things are 100% my jam.
And yet it took me 4 days to get through 175 pages.
Frankly, this book was just...weird. The concept was intriguing. Basically, Bertha doesn't die in the fire at Thornfield. When Jane returns to Rochester at Ferndean, Rochester has come up with a theory that a) his older brother married Bertha, therefore making Rochester's marriage to Bertha bigamous, and b) his older brother is still alive and living in Van Diemen's Land. So Rochester and Jane, accompanied by Adele, a comatose Bertha, St John and his wife, and Bertha's nurse Harriet Adair, jump on a ship and head off to Van Diemen's Land.
All of which sounds fine. And it was! So let's bullet point the weirdness, shall we?
- Bertha's name is actually Anna? Like, her name is apparently Anna Cosway-Mason. But she's known as Bertha?? Up until she comes out of her coma that is, at which point she's all "???? Who's Bertha?!" I just...whut.
- BerthAnna declares that yes, she and Rowland Rochester were married, and no one questions that the testimony of a woman whose recent history is a) madness and b) months-long coma???
- St John's surname, inexplicably, is Wallace. This change is literally never explained. Every other detail is the same. He still has two sisters named Mary and Diana. He's still a minister. Jane still meets her cousins in the exact same way. And yet when they go to Van Diemen's Land, St John (who goes with them) has just returned from doing missionary work in India. Uh. Was there a time jump in here? Or did St John (who's married to a random woman named Louisa???) go to be a missionary in India for like 5 minutes, then come back in time to make this trip to VDL? I DON'T UNDERSTAAAAAAAAAAND.
- The main character is Harriet Adair, Bertha's nurse. Except that when she's at Thornfield, she's known as Grace Poole. Why? Because Bertha's previous nurse was Grace Poole and when she died and they hired someone to take her place, it........was just too hard for the other servants to remember another name????????? IDEK.
- There are a lot of real people from VDL's colonial history woven into the story. I...may be slightly picky about this, having spent two years curating an exhibit on colonial Hobart at a national level collecting institution. But if you're going to use real people? GET THEIR EFFING NAMES RIGHT. John Pascoe Fawkner's surname was not spelled "Fawlkner". G.T.W.B. Boyes' Christian names were not "George William Alfred Blamey" but George Thomas William Blamey. And so on. I honestly can't decide whether this was the author intentionally making little changes to history, or if they were errors that somehow made it through to the finished copy.
- Upon arrival in Hobart, Harriet and BerthAnna have lost all their possessions. Harriet has a note of introduction from Rochester, but the bank's all "The rumour mill tells me he's dying, so...nah". So Harriet just...drops nearly TWO HUNDRED POUNDS on clothes, plus another 43 guineas on shoes????? I mean, first of all, where does a servant get that much money? And second of all, where does a servant get enough money that she doesn't think much of dropping nearly £250 without batting an eyelid??
So yeah. I had a lot of questions about this book.
Add in the fact that it crawled along at snail pace (the author says in her note that it took her 40 years to write it, and I felt like it was taking me that long to read it...) and I decided that I wasn't going to struggle bus my way through the remaining 260 pages.
DNF on page 175.
I honestly thought this book was going to be a slam dunk for me. I mean, Jane Eyre plus Tasmanian colonial history? Both of those things are 100% my jam.
And yet it took me 4 days to get through 175 pages.
Frankly, this book was just...weird. The concept was intriguing. Basically, Bertha doesn't die in the fire at Thornfield. When Jane returns to Rochester at Ferndean, Rochester has come up with a theory that a) his older brother married Bertha, therefore making Rochester's marriage to Bertha bigamous, and b) his older brother is still alive and living in Van Diemen's Land. So Rochester and Jane, accompanied by Adele, a comatose Bertha, St John and his wife, and Bertha's nurse Harriet Adair, jump on a ship and head off to Van Diemen's Land.
All of which sounds fine. And it was! So let's bullet point the weirdness, shall we?
- Bertha's name is actually Anna? Like, her name is apparently Anna Cosway-Mason. But she's known as Bertha?? Up until she comes out of her coma that is, at which point she's all "???? Who's Bertha?!" I just...whut.
- BerthAnna declares that yes, she and Rowland Rochester were married, and no one questions that the testimony of a woman whose recent history is a) madness and b) months-long coma???
- St John's surname, inexplicably, is Wallace. This change is literally never explained. Every other detail is the same. He still has two sisters named Mary and Diana. He's still a minister. Jane still meets her cousins in the exact same way. And yet when they go to Van Diemen's Land, St John (who goes with them) has just returned from doing missionary work in India. Uh. Was there a time jump in here? Or did St John (who's married to a random woman named Louisa???) go to be a missionary in India for like 5 minutes, then come back in time to make this trip to VDL? I DON'T UNDERSTAAAAAAAAAAND.
- The main character is Harriet Adair, Bertha's nurse. Except that when she's at Thornfield, she's known as Grace Poole. Why? Because Bertha's previous nurse was Grace Poole and when she died and they hired someone to take her place, it........was just too hard for the other servants to remember another name????????? IDEK.
- There are a lot of real people from VDL's colonial history woven into the story. I...may be slightly picky about this, having spent two years curating an exhibit on colonial Hobart at a national level collecting institution. But if you're going to use real people? GET THEIR EFFING NAMES RIGHT. John Pascoe Fawkner's surname was not spelled "Fawlkner". G.T.W.B. Boyes' Christian names were not "George William Alfred Blamey" but George Thomas William Blamey. And so on. I honestly can't decide whether this was the author intentionally making little changes to history, or if they were errors that somehow made it through to the finished copy.
- Upon arrival in Hobart, Harriet and BerthAnna have lost all their possessions. Harriet has a note of introduction from Rochester, but the bank's all "The rumour mill tells me he's dying, so...nah". So Harriet just...drops nearly TWO HUNDRED POUNDS on clothes, plus another 43 guineas on shoes????? I mean, first of all, where does a servant get that much money? And second of all, where does a servant get enough money that she doesn't think much of dropping nearly £250 without batting an eyelid??
So yeah. I had a lot of questions about this book.
Add in the fact that it crawled along at snail pace (the author says in her note that it took her 40 years to write it, and I felt like it was taking me that long to read it...) and I decided that I wasn't going to struggle bus my way through the remaining 260 pages.
September 18, 2016
Thanks to A&U and Goodreads for this proof copy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It provided a fascinating and tactile history of Tasmania (Van Dieman's Land) brought to life by vivid description of landscape and carefully drawn character portraits. If I could wish for one thing it would be the addition of a character list/map as there were so many important people connected in numerous ways and I found it difficult to keep track of who some of them were. This was apparent from the first few pages, which I found a bit overwhelming with detail. I really wanted to understand and keep track of all the players, it was like an intricate spiders web being woven. This book would make a fantastic mini-series and is a wonderful way to recount history. It definitely doesn't need to ride on the 'coat tails' of Jane Eyre as it is worthy on its own merits.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It provided a fascinating and tactile history of Tasmania (Van Dieman's Land) brought to life by vivid description of landscape and carefully drawn character portraits. If I could wish for one thing it would be the addition of a character list/map as there were so many important people connected in numerous ways and I found it difficult to keep track of who some of them were. This was apparent from the first few pages, which I found a bit overwhelming with detail. I really wanted to understand and keep track of all the players, it was like an intricate spiders web being woven. This book would make a fantastic mini-series and is a wonderful way to recount history. It definitely doesn't need to ride on the 'coat tails' of Jane Eyre as it is worthy on its own merits.
May 13, 2020
Just too many details, too many storylines and I was sick of “the Montagu affair” and other constantly repeated references (“the Arthurite faction”) by the end. It was interesting, especially as I live in Tasmania, and some of the history was good to read about, but it definitely was not a riveting story like the best historical fiction novels are.
October 28, 2016
Wild Island is set in Van Diemen's Land in the middle of the 19thC. The story is told through two characters, the fictional Harriet Adair and the historical Captain Charles O'Hara Booth.
Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre ends with the revelation that Rochester has kept a mad wife locked in the attic with her drunken attendant Grace Poole. A fire breaks out in the attic and the women are killed, the house is destroyed and Rochester is injured. And Jane Eyre marries Rochester. Or that's how I remember it. It's a long time since I read Jane Eyre but it is probably due for a rereading.
Wild Island begins with an alternative ending. The mad wife's attendant Grace Poole is long dead and has been replaced by Harriet Adair. And they all survive the fire. In order to be free to marry Jane Eyre Edward Rochester looks for answers in his wife's early years in the West Indies when she was married to Rochester's brother. He was supposed to have died but there are rumours that he has been seen in Van Diemen's Land. If he is alive then the marriage to Edward Rochester would be invalid.
So they all set off for Van Diemen's Land. The sea voyage causes Edward Rochester's health to fail and he and Jane Eyre turn back. But the mad wife Anna Rochester regains her sanity in the healthy sea air although she is always trouble. We are more interested in the mad wife than Bronte's readers were. She is troubled but interesting although she disappears on her own adventure for most of the book.
Harriet Adair arrives in Van Diemen's Land without her three companions and with the task of finding Edward Rochester's brother.
The historical Captain Booth is Commandant of Port Arthur prison. In Hobarton the fictional and historical characters mix naturally. It is the end of the 14 year rule of the hard line Governor Arthur and key positions in the colony are taken by the corrupt Arthurites. The new Governor is Sir John Franklin and he is accompanied by his dynamic wife Jane and other members of his family. He is no match for the machinations of the Arthurites and the political doings are fascinating. Such a lot of historical research and worn lightly. It left me wanting more and I have copied references from the back of the book to search for more information.
Harriet's chapters are related in first person. After she is separated from the rest of her party her attempts to return to England are constantly frustrated. She has a front row seat to the dramas being played out in Government House and the Franklin family and the Colony.
Harriet and Booth are both attractive characters. They are treated generously by the writer. I like it that they find happiness and fulfilment (separately) in Van Diemen's Land. We move through to the end of the Franklins time in the Colony to the repercussions of the disappearance of Sir John Franklin in the Arctic in the 1840s.
This is a first novel but Jennifer Livett tells us it was forty years in the writing. I would love it if there was another one in the pipeline.
Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre ends with the revelation that Rochester has kept a mad wife locked in the attic with her drunken attendant Grace Poole. A fire breaks out in the attic and the women are killed, the house is destroyed and Rochester is injured. And Jane Eyre marries Rochester. Or that's how I remember it. It's a long time since I read Jane Eyre but it is probably due for a rereading.
Wild Island begins with an alternative ending. The mad wife's attendant Grace Poole is long dead and has been replaced by Harriet Adair. And they all survive the fire. In order to be free to marry Jane Eyre Edward Rochester looks for answers in his wife's early years in the West Indies when she was married to Rochester's brother. He was supposed to have died but there are rumours that he has been seen in Van Diemen's Land. If he is alive then the marriage to Edward Rochester would be invalid.
So they all set off for Van Diemen's Land. The sea voyage causes Edward Rochester's health to fail and he and Jane Eyre turn back. But the mad wife Anna Rochester regains her sanity in the healthy sea air although she is always trouble. We are more interested in the mad wife than Bronte's readers were. She is troubled but interesting although she disappears on her own adventure for most of the book.
Harriet Adair arrives in Van Diemen's Land without her three companions and with the task of finding Edward Rochester's brother.
The historical Captain Booth is Commandant of Port Arthur prison. In Hobarton the fictional and historical characters mix naturally. It is the end of the 14 year rule of the hard line Governor Arthur and key positions in the colony are taken by the corrupt Arthurites. The new Governor is Sir John Franklin and he is accompanied by his dynamic wife Jane and other members of his family. He is no match for the machinations of the Arthurites and the political doings are fascinating. Such a lot of historical research and worn lightly. It left me wanting more and I have copied references from the back of the book to search for more information.
Harriet's chapters are related in first person. After she is separated from the rest of her party her attempts to return to England are constantly frustrated. She has a front row seat to the dramas being played out in Government House and the Franklin family and the Colony.
Harriet and Booth are both attractive characters. They are treated generously by the writer. I like it that they find happiness and fulfilment (separately) in Van Diemen's Land. We move through to the end of the Franklins time in the Colony to the repercussions of the disappearance of Sir John Franklin in the Arctic in the 1840s.
This is a first novel but Jennifer Livett tells us it was forty years in the writing. I would love it if there was another one in the pipeline.
August 19, 2016
I received Wild Island as a giveaway from Goodreads. This was a fantastic read. The combination of one of my favourite novels with the history of early 1800's in Van Dieman's land was irresistible. It was easy to read and I was totally wrapped up in the story from the first page.
Jennifer Livett's descriptions of life in Hobart and Port Arthur were quite vivid. Her emphasis on the political landscape still apply today, corruption abounding in those in power. The total unsuitability of Sir John Franklin for the position of governor was dealt with compassionately. Also Lady Franklin's desire to not be constrained by the conventions of the times highlighted the misogynist attitudes of that era.
Overall this was an informative and enjoyable novel.
Jennifer Livett's descriptions of life in Hobart and Port Arthur were quite vivid. Her emphasis on the political landscape still apply today, corruption abounding in those in power. The total unsuitability of Sir John Franklin for the position of governor was dealt with compassionately. Also Lady Franklin's desire to not be constrained by the conventions of the times highlighted the misogynist attitudes of that era.
Overall this was an informative and enjoyable novel.
August 19, 2016
A great historical read, the book was pretty good. i was just a bit disappointed when the main character leave the story, and then the focus is on another couple of character and then they leave the story line... I would have liked more discoveries or focus on relationships with main characters... Maybe Lady Franklin could have been in the spotlight more with her shaping of a new colony.
August 17, 2017
I really liked the concept of this book - Jane Eyre meets convict Tasmania. And the historical detail was interesting.
However the book took me forever to read. It was long winded, rambling, and I'm still not sure exactly what the plot was. I felt like I was reading someone's diary - nice details but also painfully boring in places.
However the book took me forever to read. It was long winded, rambling, and I'm still not sure exactly what the plot was. I felt like I was reading someone's diary - nice details but also painfully boring in places.
May 10, 2017
Readers of Jane Eyre have met the main character of this book, Harriet Adair before, as Grace Poole caring for the mad Bertha Mason at Thornfield. But in this telling, Bertha did not die in the fire thus freeing Edward Rochester to marry our Jane. The woman we knew as Grace Poole was really Harriet Adair, and Bertha was instead Anna – not Antoinette as in Wide Sargasso Sea, a model for this book in extrapolating and subverting Jane Eyre into a new story. ..
...
There have been other books that have sprung from a much loved story – Wide Sargasso Sea is one; Pemberley is another- but in this book Jennifer Livett has added another level of difficulty. The opening pages have two lists of characters: the first a list of historical characters drawn from the real-life inhabitants of Van Diemen’s Land in the late 1830s and early 1840s; and the second a list of fictional characters, some of whom have been taken from Jane Eyre, others created to mingle with the real-life Hobartians. The research for this book is exhaustive- and exhausting. In her acknowledgments at the rear of the book, the author mentions that this book has been forty years in gestation, and I believe it.
...
It’s a long book, but Livett has maintained Harriet’s narrative voice throughout the alternating chapters which switch between Harriet’s first person point of view and a third-person omniscient narrative. It is this high-wire act of playing out a twist on the Jane Eyre story, while maintaining such historical integrity that most impresses me about this book. But then I find myself wondering: is there such a thing as too much historical integrity? I suspect that there is; and I think that the book threatened to be engulfed by it, even for someone familiar with and appreciative of its fidelity.
And so, my praise for Wild Island is not completely unalloyed. Livett has aimed high, but much though I admire the accuracy and richness of her historical rendering of Van Diemen’s Land, I wonder if it ensnared her in details and explanations that stopped this book from really soaring.
For my complete review, visit
https://residentjudge.wordpress.com/2...
...
There have been other books that have sprung from a much loved story – Wide Sargasso Sea is one; Pemberley is another- but in this book Jennifer Livett has added another level of difficulty. The opening pages have two lists of characters: the first a list of historical characters drawn from the real-life inhabitants of Van Diemen’s Land in the late 1830s and early 1840s; and the second a list of fictional characters, some of whom have been taken from Jane Eyre, others created to mingle with the real-life Hobartians. The research for this book is exhaustive- and exhausting. In her acknowledgments at the rear of the book, the author mentions that this book has been forty years in gestation, and I believe it.
...
It’s a long book, but Livett has maintained Harriet’s narrative voice throughout the alternating chapters which switch between Harriet’s first person point of view and a third-person omniscient narrative. It is this high-wire act of playing out a twist on the Jane Eyre story, while maintaining such historical integrity that most impresses me about this book. But then I find myself wondering: is there such a thing as too much historical integrity? I suspect that there is; and I think that the book threatened to be engulfed by it, even for someone familiar with and appreciative of its fidelity.
And so, my praise for Wild Island is not completely unalloyed. Livett has aimed high, but much though I admire the accuracy and richness of her historical rendering of Van Diemen’s Land, I wonder if it ensnared her in details and explanations that stopped this book from really soaring.
For my complete review, visit
https://residentjudge.wordpress.com/2...
December 15, 2021
I picked up this book second hand. I hadn’t heard of the author and came to Goodreads to check it out. The rating was below 4 but I thought what the heck, I’ve got a thing about historical fiction at the moment.
I haven’t regretted spending the money. I was hooked from the start. If you forget about Jane Eyre and Rochester for a bit it’s essentially a journey from England to Tasmania through the eyes of two separate characters. One male and one female both with a connection to Jane Eyre and Rochester. Once in Tasmania we’re exposed to our white history through the introduction of some strong female characters. I love these characters as they’re well drawn and display quite contemporary perspectives on female roles in society.
I loved the small historical details and insights along the way some of which may be boring to others, but the author makes the connection, that I often have, that our heritage buildings and small aspects of domestic life are pale comparisons to what England was like at the time. Secondly, that it felt bizarre to travel so far to find it replicated in Tasmania. Where was our own emerging identity? No where. Other insights about the number of times people might travel between England and Tasmania were interesting, if accurate. I would never have thought that 3 or 4 trips in a lifetime might have been possible given the length of the treacherous sea journey.
I’d read another book by this author if she publishes again.
I haven’t regretted spending the money. I was hooked from the start. If you forget about Jane Eyre and Rochester for a bit it’s essentially a journey from England to Tasmania through the eyes of two separate characters. One male and one female both with a connection to Jane Eyre and Rochester. Once in Tasmania we’re exposed to our white history through the introduction of some strong female characters. I love these characters as they’re well drawn and display quite contemporary perspectives on female roles in society.
I loved the small historical details and insights along the way some of which may be boring to others, but the author makes the connection, that I often have, that our heritage buildings and small aspects of domestic life are pale comparisons to what England was like at the time. Secondly, that it felt bizarre to travel so far to find it replicated in Tasmania. Where was our own emerging identity? No where. Other insights about the number of times people might travel between England and Tasmania were interesting, if accurate. I would never have thought that 3 or 4 trips in a lifetime might have been possible given the length of the treacherous sea journey.
I’d read another book by this author if she publishes again.
August 28, 2018
The (brief, confusing, sporadic, superfluous) inclusion of Jane Eyre and other characters from Brontë’s novel in this separate novel was odd, and didn’t really work, or add any value. I decided to disregard all of that - not difficult to do, as they don’t really form any integral part of anything - and treat it as an entirely separate novel; an immersive historical fiction nod to colonial Van Diemen’s Land, and on that level, I enjoyed it.
I’m Tasmanian, so I appreciated the (mostly - not completely; there are some “eh?” errors) historically accurate descriptions of my home island and it’s colonial settlers/invaders in the 19th century - albeit a whitewashed version that largely erases the indigenous people and the destruction of native flora and fauna during that period. I sadly anticipated that - it is a novel about VDL from the romanticised perspective of the white colonials. The invasion devastation is very briefly touched upon, but definitely not adequately explored.
I found the Franklins to be some of the most interesting characters. Overall, a good simple period drama read - if you can overlook the clumsy Eyre stuff and the other foibles. Probably best enjoyed by Tasmanians as we are more likely to emotionally connect to the descriptions of the places and history, which does allow us to overlook some shortcomings.
I’m Tasmanian, so I appreciated the (mostly - not completely; there are some “eh?” errors) historically accurate descriptions of my home island and it’s colonial settlers/invaders in the 19th century - albeit a whitewashed version that largely erases the indigenous people and the destruction of native flora and fauna during that period. I sadly anticipated that - it is a novel about VDL from the romanticised perspective of the white colonials. The invasion devastation is very briefly touched upon, but definitely not adequately explored.
I found the Franklins to be some of the most interesting characters. Overall, a good simple period drama read - if you can overlook the clumsy Eyre stuff and the other foibles. Probably best enjoyed by Tasmanians as we are more likely to emotionally connect to the descriptions of the places and history, which does allow us to overlook some shortcomings.
February 25, 2019
The historical detail and the bringing to life of important figures in Tasmania's history were what made me enjoy and appreciate this book. The fine detail created a clear image of colonial life in Van Diemen's Land. I grew to have great respect for Lady Franklin, gaining appreciation for her energy, intelligence and foresight. I dare anyone to listen to a recording of "Lady Franklin's Lament" and not shed a tear after reading this book.
Although I highly recommend Wild Island, the Jane Eyre fictional story interwoven with the interesting history of Tasmania didn't quite work for me. Perhaps it was a clever way to bring in Harriet Adair, the narrator, and of course the social history contained in the fictional story and the contrast to England were relevant, but for me that was all an 'aside'. Granted, the restoration of Anna's sanity when she travels to Tasmania, and the restoration of Rochester's health when he returns makes a point about cultural identity which is worth pondering.
The complexities of politics mixes with the goodness of people who aimed to make Van Diemen's Land a better place. Those wanting a better understanding and a feeling for Australian history will be glad to read this book.
Although I highly recommend Wild Island, the Jane Eyre fictional story interwoven with the interesting history of Tasmania didn't quite work for me. Perhaps it was a clever way to bring in Harriet Adair, the narrator, and of course the social history contained in the fictional story and the contrast to England were relevant, but for me that was all an 'aside'. Granted, the restoration of Anna's sanity when she travels to Tasmania, and the restoration of Rochester's health when he returns makes a point about cultural identity which is worth pondering.
The complexities of politics mixes with the goodness of people who aimed to make Van Diemen's Land a better place. Those wanting a better understanding and a feeling for Australian history will be glad to read this book.
January 4, 2018
I thought aspects of this book were good, but it was flawed in some other ways. You certainly get a good sense of the protagonist's journey from the Rochester household to Tasmania and her experiences there. The depiction of Hobart and life there in the 1830s and the petty squabbles involved is also compelling and convincing. However I felt there were problems with the historical characters. The author has included a very wide range of people and this is to the detriment of the main story. I spent a lot of time wondering "who was he again?" and "what exactly were they fighting about"? Also I wasn't sure quite why the author focussed so much on Booth at the beginning of the story when he became just one of many towards the end and Jane Franklin came to the fore. I was also a bit confused about the all Fairfaxes and Rochesters, which may be because I haven't read Jane Eyre, but maybe if there hadn't been so many other people that would have been clearer. Essentially I think the author went too much for historical accuracy and detail (as opposed to authenticity which was pretty good) at the expense of a strong narrative.
April 28, 2023
Unfortunately I only got up to page 75 and abandoned ship!
The blurb on the back sounded like it could be a really interesting novel. Could have been, but….
In my opinion there would’ve been enough characters in the novel with the historical characters but then there was an extra bunch of fictional characters added in & then it felt like reading two separate novels at once! Funnily enough the chapters with Jane Eyre were better to read than the historical chapters.
So many characters, it was confusing keeping us with what everyone was doing.
I jumped ahead and read a few pages later in the novel to see if it got any better but unfortunately it appears that it didn’t.
Having recently visited Tasmania I was keen to read this book and learn more about the history & places. So I was disappointed that this book really didn’t hit the mark.
It was hard to read and I found it boring and long winded.
Sorry but I just couldn’t invest any more time in reading
The blurb on the back sounded like it could be a really interesting novel. Could have been, but….
In my opinion there would’ve been enough characters in the novel with the historical characters but then there was an extra bunch of fictional characters added in & then it felt like reading two separate novels at once! Funnily enough the chapters with Jane Eyre were better to read than the historical chapters.
So many characters, it was confusing keeping us with what everyone was doing.
I jumped ahead and read a few pages later in the novel to see if it got any better but unfortunately it appears that it didn’t.
Having recently visited Tasmania I was keen to read this book and learn more about the history & places. So I was disappointed that this book really didn’t hit the mark.
It was hard to read and I found it boring and long winded.
Sorry but I just couldn’t invest any more time in reading
October 13, 2018
I bought this book immediately I saw it advertised by my bookseller, on the basis that Jennifer Livett was one of my English lecturers at Uni and I was curious what she would do with the premise. Sadly I come away disappointed. As a Tasmanian, the exploration of the Franklins and their years in Tasmania was interesting but somewhat rambling. As a lover of Jane Eyre, the connection with that story was... bewildering. And the two stories wandered around side by side but never connecting. The invented ‘female lead’, Harriet, leaves me shaking my head. Either story would have been sufficient for a novel, and would have had the opportunity to be more coherant.
February 4, 2017
A sprawling tale of political intrigue, loss, love and family, Wild Island is a well-researched portrait of life in Tasmania under Governor Sir John Franklin. Merging fact with fiction (the concerns of Jane Eyre, Edward Rochester and Bertha Mason help pull the narrative forward), and populated with women struggling against their circumstances, Livett has brought to life the trials and tribulations of colonial life. I agree with other reviewers that the cast of characters can be hard to keep hold of, but I enjoyed returning to the Tasmania of Richard Flanagan's Wanting.
June 11, 2017
This was an intriguing read and different from the usual books I would pick up so I found it a little challenging at times but certainly rewarding and very interesting. The combination of Jane Eyre and colonial Tasmania was indeed quite fascinating and I thought on the whole quite well juxtaposed. I will certainly recommend this book to friends and family looking for something a little different and am grateful to Goodreads First Reads for the opportunity to broaden my horizon!
December 17, 2020
Wild Island is the continuation of Jane and Rochester’s story after the events of Jane Eyre. The story veers away from them and instead follows Rochester’s first wife and her nurse to Van Diemens Land.
📚📚📚
A lovely book which paints a picture of colonial Australian society very well- from its painful disregard for the convicts to the dogged attempts to maintain English ways of life. Unfortunately it was far too slow- with very little happening to keep me interested for the full 400 pages.
📚📚📚
A lovely book which paints a picture of colonial Australian society very well- from its painful disregard for the convicts to the dogged attempts to maintain English ways of life. Unfortunately it was far too slow- with very little happening to keep me interested for the full 400 pages.
February 1, 2022
I enjoyed reading about colonial Tasmania and gaining a better glimpse of what life was like then. The idea of linking the Jane Eyre story was creative. The prose is well written. However, there were two many characters and the novel lacked structure, making it difficult to follow at times. Every time I considered giving it away, a little snippet of interest would keep me going. 2.5 stars.
May 27, 2017
three and a half stars.
January 14, 2018
A wonderful blend of history and fiction written very well in the style of the era. Enough intrigue and plumbing of human nature to keep the pages turning.
March 2, 2018
Marvellous,
November 2, 2022
Interesting storylines, sometimes a bit to many and a bit to often 'deus ex machina'
January 12, 2023
An enjoyable concoction of historical figures and life story facts, with creative life story ideas, melded with the classic fiction of Jane Eyre. Well done and a good read.
September 21, 2016
Wild Island is the imagined sequel of Jane Eyre blended with the historical events of Sir John Franklin. Livett has chosen to tell the story from the point of view of historical figure Captain Charles O'Hara Booth and fictional character Harriet Adair.
How different the story would have been if it were told from the perspective of Jane Franklin, a woman ahead of her time. Booth is a prominent character at the beginning but fades away at the end however Harriet is a great protagonist as she integrates well into society in Van Diemans land.
The prose reports events, rather than plotting through dialogue, in a linear fashion. There is no roller-coaster or climax, instead a deep steady immersion in the historical world of Van Diemans land. So it is easy to miss significant events; this book needs to be read slowly and savoured.
The world in which Livett takes us to is fascinating. There is so much detail, she blends imagination with a love of history in which she shares on every page. It is a rich history lesson to the life of the convicts and settlers: dialogue, hierarchy, transportation, illness, gender inequity, the relationship between paternalistic Great Britain and the youthful Van Diemans land and much more.
There are so many characters in the book that it is extremely easy to become confused with who's who. The book has a four page list at the beginning giving names and brief descriptions of the main characters. I feel that this list could have been longer and in alphabetical order!
Being familiar with neither Eyre nor Franklins stories did not diminish my enjoyment of this novel. Enjoy this story and savour Livett's world in Van Diemans land.
This book was provided free through Goodreads.
How different the story would have been if it were told from the perspective of Jane Franklin, a woman ahead of her time. Booth is a prominent character at the beginning but fades away at the end however Harriet is a great protagonist as she integrates well into society in Van Diemans land.
The prose reports events, rather than plotting through dialogue, in a linear fashion. There is no roller-coaster or climax, instead a deep steady immersion in the historical world of Van Diemans land. So it is easy to miss significant events; this book needs to be read slowly and savoured.
The world in which Livett takes us to is fascinating. There is so much detail, she blends imagination with a love of history in which she shares on every page. It is a rich history lesson to the life of the convicts and settlers: dialogue, hierarchy, transportation, illness, gender inequity, the relationship between paternalistic Great Britain and the youthful Van Diemans land and much more.
There are so many characters in the book that it is extremely easy to become confused with who's who. The book has a four page list at the beginning giving names and brief descriptions of the main characters. I feel that this list could have been longer and in alphabetical order!
Being familiar with neither Eyre nor Franklins stories did not diminish my enjoyment of this novel. Enjoy this story and savour Livett's world in Van Diemans land.
This book was provided free through Goodreads.
September 2, 2018
Wild Island by Jennifer Livett is set, for the greater part, in Van Diemen’s Land in the 1830s, a time when, although it was primarily penal settlement, some were beginning to envisage a different future for the colony. The story is told through dual narratives, in the third person concentrating on Charles Booth, the Commandant of the Port Arthur Penal Settlement and in the first person by Harriet Adair, an accomplished artist. Its starting point is a reimagining of the aftermath of the final events of Jane Eyre. Bertha Mason, now known as Anna Rochester, has survived the fire at Thornfield Hall but is in a coma. Believing that Anna may have been married first to Rochester’s elder brother who had made his way to Van Diemen’s Land, Rochester, Jane Eyre, Anna and Harriet, who is Anna’s nurse, sail for the colony. While the search for the elder Rochester frames the story, the Jane Eyre characters fade into the background as Harriet’s story takes centre stage. Although longing to return to England, she carves out a place for herself in Van Diemen’s Land and becomes associated with Jane, Lady Franklin, wife of the Lieutenant Governor Sir John Franklin, the Arctic explorer. In different ways both Booth’s and Harriet’s narratives bring Van Diemen’s Land to vivid life with an extensive cast of fictional and historical characters involved in the social life and political machinations of the time. The fictional characters sit easily alongside the historical characters, all have depth and Van Diemen’s Land itself is shown in all its raw beauty. This is excellent historical fiction, well researched, well written, with a persuasive narrative.
More reviews at https://catherinemeyrick.com/
More reviews at https://catherinemeyrick.com/
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