Land of Golden Wattle

by J.H. Fletcher

1826, Van Diemen’s Land

When her father dies in a duel, 17-year-old Emma Tregellas is left with limited funds and at the mercy of her odious guardian. Faced with the prospect of being forced into marriage with a man she detests, she enlists the help of her true love, Ephraim Dark,
who assists her to escape to faraway Van Diemen’s Land. Here she seeks sanctuary with her wealthy uncle Barnsley Tregellas.

1982, Tasmania

The union of Bec Hampton and Jonathan, heir to the fabulously wealthy Penrose estate, brought promise of reconciliation to two warring sides of the same family: a dynasty that had its foundations laid by Emma Tregellas and Ephraim Dark nearly a hundred years earlier. Defying opposition from Jonathan’s formidable grandmother, Bec had gained control of Derwent, the agricultural empire that the family had built from the early days of white settlement. Now 85, Bec’s dearest wish is that her granddaughter Tamara should inherit the property but Giles, her dissolute son, has other ideas. Will Bec and Tamara succeed in defeating Giles’s plans or will control of Derwent pass irrevocably out of the family?

This majestic historical drama spans seven generations of an often-divided Australian family. With them we experience many of the traumatic events of Australia’s history: the early days of white settlement, the gold rush, the cataclysm of two world wars and the great depression.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Australia

448 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2017

About the author

J.H. Fletcher is the prize-winning author of fifteen novels, published to both critical and popular acclaim in Australia, Germany and the UK, as well as numerous short stories and plays for radio and television.

He was educated in England and France and travelled and worked in Europe, Asia and Africa before emigrating to Australia in 1991. Home is now a house within sight of the Western Tier Mountains in northern Tasmania.

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Land of Golden Wattle by J.H. Fletcher is a great colonial Australian read set in Tasmania where the sun often shines on the golden wattle every Winter/Spring.

I enjoyed hearing about Agfest, trout fishing, the Derwent and other unique aspects of Tasmania and Australia where we are never far from the sound of kookaburra calling to us from a distant gum tree.

This is also an epic tale of early days of the Australian gold rush and what it meant to several generations.

Excellent reading and writing in this novel, Land of Golden Wattle by J.H. Fletcher.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Land of Golden Wattle by J.H. Fletcher is an epic read over the generations that I enjoyed with the setting and characters mainly in Tasmania Australia. I usually like books that change the time setting chapter by chapter, but this one had three time periods going at once so did get a little mind boggling at times for me. Luckily I read it in a few days (school holidays at the moment in Aust!) – if I had been reading it at a busy time in my life, I think I would have found it hard to keep up. I enjoyed each of the characters, but you don’t become overly attached because of this…….in saying all that, the storyline is fabulous in how the station Derwent came about and how over the years the generations farmed it and kept it going, nearly losing it at times etc. The writing is lovely and descriptive and effortlessly takes the reader to another time and place……

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Covering seven generations of a Tasmanian family dynasty this was an epic story. Not all the family members were likeable - but common thread was the strength of the women and what they did to hold onto the family property. The story was rushed in parts and the writing was a bit choppy but overall was interesting, with Australia's history tied throughout with the family story. I loved Emma's story the most and would of been happy with just her story.

[M.C. D'alton · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there were some beautiful bits in the book, I couldn't help but feel rushed as the author raced the finish each couples story, especially Emma and Ephraim's. Though the descriptions of the land, and some of the characters were phenomenal, I felt this book would have read better as a trilogy instead of crammed into one book.

[Bill Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoy this author but had to keep referring to the family tree covers a couple of hundred years.

[Rita Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the Australian gold rush days this is another great read from one of my favourite authors. I did however find the constant changing from one generation to another quite tiresome. It works with two generations but with such a number of different characters from different periods I found it confusing and, at times, hard to follow. Otherwise well worth reading.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a book!!
What a book!!
Read this - it’s a brilliant read
I listened to it as an audio book and the narrator was amazing.
The chapters do switch around between eras / centuries so you have to keep a handle on the characters and which years you are in so as to not get confused but it flows incredibly well
So beautifully written and touches on historic events such as the Eureka stockade
Highly recommended
Loved it

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting historical story. Unfortunately, I had to refer to the timeline at the beginning of the book frrequently as the narrative jumped too often between generations. Some charachters were developed well so I felt I "knew" them to a cerain extent, others not as much. I feel this book would have been better written in probably a series of 3 novels.

[Robyn Coyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story - loved it. Really got into this family's history - wonderful read.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historically sound with drama of the gold rush saga.

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting but a bit ambitious covering 7 generations and skipping between time periods.

[Jodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable story with good characters but I sometimes felt that the story was being raced through (almost summarised).

[Sandra Prosser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really a fan of this type of novel. But it was an easy read.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 and a half stars

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to keep going back to the family tree as I found it hard to keep track of all the characters and time frames.

[Mary Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, dragged a bit in parts

[Jennifer Larmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Warning: Some minor spoilers***
This is the story of a wealthy Tasmanian family whose good fortune is wrought from gold, wool and a lust for land. It is also an intricate tale detailing its lineage … some branches forming this family tree ooze with love and laughter, others harbour secrets and grudges, and all intermingle with either compassion and self-sacrifice or downright nastiness and bitter rivalry. This myriad of traits follows two branches of the family line down through the years, beginning with Victoria and Emma, the two wives of one man with big dreams.

For the first several chapters, J.H. Fletcher’s, Land of Golden Wattle, vacillates between the hardships of life found in the new colony first known as Van Diemen’s Land of 1826 and its more well-known place name of Tasmania in 1982. The story begins in the latter century but soon moves back in time to a rural district in England. Emma, a feisty young woman suddenly facing a bleak future when she is orphaned at seventeen, finds herself thrust into the care of her less than righteous reverend cousin and the austere presence of a nasty old biddy who shows no heart or compassion for the young girl.

Fate then steps in to lend a hand: or rather Emma herself takes matters into her own pretty ones and after a long sea journey finds herself landing in the new colony of Hobart Town, determined to make a successful new life and provide an inheritance for her ancestors.

The man she adores, although having Emma’s best interests at heart, turns out to be a huge dreamer and unfortunately a bit of a schemer. When her lying, heartless uncle sets in motion a scheme that will wreak havoc on the young family, their path and that of their children suddenly takes a strange and dangerous turn — and one that will have long-lasting consequences down through the generations.

The descriptions of her newly adopted country and the unfolding of Emma’s destiny takes on the form of a glorious symphony with all the heartening crescendos and treacherous troughs the blending of finely-tuned instruments is able to create. I fell in love with this young woman and her sassy ways and was quite sad to leave her behind when the drama moved forward in time.

This novel is beautifully written with both compelling and thoroughly unlikeable characters; the perfect counterbalance between hero/heroine and villain/villainess. The transition between a host of characters down through an entire century and a half is very well-executed, making it relatively easy for readers to float freely from one to the other as the author directs. A family tree at the front of the book is a wonderful addition to assist in keeping up with who’s who if needed.

The intricate descriptions of life in this still new savage land far across the sea from her former English homeland paint a vivid picture. Readers are taken backwards in time, treading those cobbled streets of Hobart Town and experiencing what it was like for a young 17-year-old arriving in this strange land.without really knowing anything about it nor any of the residents.

Subsequent eras bring to life more compelling characters — some you love, others you hate with a passion. Betrayal abounds in several generations beginning with the worst of all, while vengeance, and a deep dark secret, underpins the second half of the story.

Not having chapter numbers but only dates displayed made for an interesting read, capturing the parallel stories of Emma and her six generations removed granddaughter unfolding for approximately the first third of its pages. Tamara is just as feisty and determined as her young English ancestor of yesteryear and brings a modern touch to all the generations flowing from Emma and Victoria’s loins.

I thoroughly enjoyed everything about Land of Golden Wattle … the cast of characters, the descriptions and customs cleverly portrayed for each era, and the rich tapestry of bloodline veins pulsating across each page. J.H. Fletcher carried the suspense perfectly while changing from one era to the next and the further you went, the harder it was to put down.

I highly recommend this beautiful novel as it sweeps in and out of the centuries like silken threads forming a magnificent tapestry.

[Christine Cooper]

I really enjoyed this book, it is a journey over several generations. Secrets ,ambition and an awful lot of very determined and interesting characters. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Australian history and family sagas.