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The Timeless Land #3
No Barrier
Book three of The Timeless Land trilogy, Eleanor Dark's best known work, continues the story of colonial Sydney up to the crossing of the Blue Mountains. the story of the Mannion family continues after the Bligh rebellion. As the young Mannions grow to maturity, so too the settlement at Sydney Cove develops into a town of substance. And later, the longings of young Miles Mannion are echoed in the efforts of the settlers to spread to the west. the discovery of a route over the Blue Mountains west of Sydney means there will be no further barrier.
512 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1953
3 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Eleanor Dark
16 books17 followersEleanor Dark (1901 - 1985) was an Australian author, most known for her historical novel The Timeless Land (1941), which became a bestseller in Australia and the USA.
Dark was born on 26 August 1901 at Croydon, Sydney, second of three children of Sydney-born parents Dowell O’Reilly, schoolteacher and author, and his wife Eleanor Grace, née McCulloch, who died in 1914 after an unhappy marriage and a period of ill health. Small, dark and elfin, 'Pixie', as she was known to her family, attended several private schools before boarding at Redlands, Neutral Bay, from 1916 to 1920.
Although Pixie had written verse from the age of 7, as the family’s finances grew tighter her hopes of university and a writing career faded. After attending Stott & Hoare’s Business College, she worked as a stenographer for a firm of solicitors, Makinson, Plunkett & d’Apice, for eighteen months. She married Eric Payten Dark, a medical practitioner and a widower with an infant son, John, on 1 February 1922 at St Matthias’s Church of England, Paddington. Eric and Eleanor shared many interests: literature, history, tennis, bushwalking, mountain-climbing and gardening. Next year they moved to Katoomba. In the relative isolation of the Blue Mountains she resumed writing. Eric enthusiastically encouraged her. They were absorbed in each other; John moved back and forth between them and his mother’s family and later boarded at Sydney Grammar School, visiting the Darks for occasional weekends. Their son Michael was born in 1929; Eleanor was a devoted mother to him.
Dark used the pseudonyms 'P. O’R.' and 'Patricia O’Rane' for the verse which she wrote in the 1920s and early 1930s. It was published in Australia by journals including the Triad, Bulletin and Woman’s Mirror, but was not very significant. Her short stories were also published in these journals and in Motoring News, Home and Ink.
She wrote her ten novels between the 1930s and 1950s. Seven had contemporary themes, often utilising the techniques of modernism, exploring contemporary relationships and politics. Her other three novels - beginning with The Timeless Land - formed an historical trilogy and were her most popular and best-selling works.
Both Eleanor and Eric were openly leftist in their views throughout a period when Australia was increasingly conservative. They were monitored by the government during the "Red scare" of the 1940s and 1950s, for fear they were members of the Communist Party (they weren't).
Dark largely abandoned writing after 1960. Although she worked on manuscript novels and plays, she lost interest due to a combination of low sales and the changing tastes of the public. In the late 1970s, Dark was awarded an Order of Australia medal, and her books were gradually republished in the 1980s as a new wave of artists and feminists discovered her writings. By this time, she was ill, and died in 1985 in hospital.
Dark was born on 26 August 1901 at Croydon, Sydney, second of three children of Sydney-born parents Dowell O’Reilly, schoolteacher and author, and his wife Eleanor Grace, née McCulloch, who died in 1914 after an unhappy marriage and a period of ill health. Small, dark and elfin, 'Pixie', as she was known to her family, attended several private schools before boarding at Redlands, Neutral Bay, from 1916 to 1920.
Although Pixie had written verse from the age of 7, as the family’s finances grew tighter her hopes of university and a writing career faded. After attending Stott & Hoare’s Business College, she worked as a stenographer for a firm of solicitors, Makinson, Plunkett & d’Apice, for eighteen months. She married Eric Payten Dark, a medical practitioner and a widower with an infant son, John, on 1 February 1922 at St Matthias’s Church of England, Paddington. Eric and Eleanor shared many interests: literature, history, tennis, bushwalking, mountain-climbing and gardening. Next year they moved to Katoomba. In the relative isolation of the Blue Mountains she resumed writing. Eric enthusiastically encouraged her. They were absorbed in each other; John moved back and forth between them and his mother’s family and later boarded at Sydney Grammar School, visiting the Darks for occasional weekends. Their son Michael was born in 1929; Eleanor was a devoted mother to him.
Dark used the pseudonyms 'P. O’R.' and 'Patricia O’Rane' for the verse which she wrote in the 1920s and early 1930s. It was published in Australia by journals including the Triad, Bulletin and Woman’s Mirror, but was not very significant. Her short stories were also published in these journals and in Motoring News, Home and Ink.
She wrote her ten novels between the 1930s and 1950s. Seven had contemporary themes, often utilising the techniques of modernism, exploring contemporary relationships and politics. Her other three novels - beginning with The Timeless Land - formed an historical trilogy and were her most popular and best-selling works.
Both Eleanor and Eric were openly leftist in their views throughout a period when Australia was increasingly conservative. They were monitored by the government during the "Red scare" of the 1940s and 1950s, for fear they were members of the Communist Party (they weren't).
Dark largely abandoned writing after 1960. Although she worked on manuscript novels and plays, she lost interest due to a combination of low sales and the changing tastes of the public. In the late 1970s, Dark was awarded an Order of Australia medal, and her books were gradually republished in the 1980s as a new wave of artists and feminists discovered her writings. By this time, she was ill, and died in 1985 in hospital.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 22, 2017
A somewhat disappointing conclusion to the series, as Dark doubles down on all the most problematic aspects of the previous two books, while Macquarie never manages to come to life in the way of her previous fictional versions of the governors do.
Part of the issue is that the characters Dark has created, the Mannions and Johnny Prentice, start to feel increasingly anachronistic: Conor Mannion's unconventional choices weren't unknown at the time, but they would have had a reverberating effect in the colony. The absence of this reverberation upon the historical characters in the novel, makes her story feel very disjointed and unreal. The other Mannion characters are frankly tedious, occupied into a love triangle that feels like it belongs in another novel entirely. As for Johnny Prentice, well, his eventual evolution at least feels like an attempt to reintegrate him into a historical narrative, but his storyline is just not remotely plausible. Worse, it is underpinned by ignorant ideas about Aboriginal people. Dark was so far ahead of most of white Australia at this time, but that doesn't mean she understood as much as she thought she did, or she didn't reflect racist ideas. Prentice's eventual emotional rescue at the hands of white working class woman is overtly contrasted to the limits of his emotional relationships with black women, in a way that is deeply offensive and stupid. Similarly, Dilboong remains idiotic, a kind of suffering simpleton, and is a far cry from the sophisticated and realistic portrayal of her father in the first novel.
The strength of this novel is the lavish descriptions of the Blue Mountains themselves, and for that alone the book may be worth it. But overall, it was a disappointing outing.
Part of the issue is that the characters Dark has created, the Mannions and Johnny Prentice, start to feel increasingly anachronistic: Conor Mannion's unconventional choices weren't unknown at the time, but they would have had a reverberating effect in the colony. The absence of this reverberation upon the historical characters in the novel, makes her story feel very disjointed and unreal. The other Mannion characters are frankly tedious, occupied into a love triangle that feels like it belongs in another novel entirely. As for Johnny Prentice, well, his eventual evolution at least feels like an attempt to reintegrate him into a historical narrative, but his storyline is just not remotely plausible. Worse, it is underpinned by ignorant ideas about Aboriginal people. Dark was so far ahead of most of white Australia at this time, but that doesn't mean she understood as much as she thought she did, or she didn't reflect racist ideas. Prentice's eventual emotional rescue at the hands of white working class woman is overtly contrasted to the limits of his emotional relationships with black women, in a way that is deeply offensive and stupid. Similarly, Dilboong remains idiotic, a kind of suffering simpleton, and is a far cry from the sophisticated and realistic portrayal of her father in the first novel.
The strength of this novel is the lavish descriptions of the Blue Mountains themselves, and for that alone the book may be worth it. But overall, it was a disappointing outing.
September 1, 2015
‘Only the wind, blowing steadily from the West, failed to welcome the new Governor.’
This novel, the final in Ms Dark’s trilogy ‘The Timeless Land’, opens with the arrival of Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810. While the period from the end of the second novel at the beginning of 1808 and the arrival of Governor Macquarie is covered using extracts from Conor Mannion’s journal and letters. Tragedy and the Bligh rebellion have had an impact on both the Mannions and the settlement at Sydney Cove. But the settlement continues to grow, and there are young men – including Miles Mannion – who dream of crossing the Blue Mountains looking for suitable land for settlement on the other side.
The expansion of the settlement provides a number of challenges. Not only is it more difficult to govern expanding settlements effectively, continually expanding settlements displace even more of the Aboriginal people.
From his secluded eyrie, Johnny Prentice is torn between European and Aboriginal cultures. Patrick Mannion has his own set of cares and responsibilities. And when his brother Miles returns to Australia, with a wife, Patrick’s life becomes more difficult.
I reread this novel with mixed feelings. While in many ways it is my least favourite of the trilogy, this is a consequence of my unrealistic expectations rather than any failure on the part of the author. The trilogy must come to an end, and not all of the characters will find happiness. I especially liked the way in which Ms Dark set out the challenges faced by Governor Macquarie, and how he determined to meet them. The Mannions will have mixed success, the Aborigines very little success, while Conor Mannion herself will flourish. And Johnny Prentice? Can he find happiness?
I finished the novel wanting more, yet knowing that no amount of ‘more’ would really satisfy. If you are interested in Australia’s colonial history, then this trilogy gives a wonderfully detailed, nuanced picture of it. The good, the bad and the ugly.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This novel, the final in Ms Dark’s trilogy ‘The Timeless Land’, opens with the arrival of Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810. While the period from the end of the second novel at the beginning of 1808 and the arrival of Governor Macquarie is covered using extracts from Conor Mannion’s journal and letters. Tragedy and the Bligh rebellion have had an impact on both the Mannions and the settlement at Sydney Cove. But the settlement continues to grow, and there are young men – including Miles Mannion – who dream of crossing the Blue Mountains looking for suitable land for settlement on the other side.
The expansion of the settlement provides a number of challenges. Not only is it more difficult to govern expanding settlements effectively, continually expanding settlements displace even more of the Aboriginal people.
From his secluded eyrie, Johnny Prentice is torn between European and Aboriginal cultures. Patrick Mannion has his own set of cares and responsibilities. And when his brother Miles returns to Australia, with a wife, Patrick’s life becomes more difficult.
I reread this novel with mixed feelings. While in many ways it is my least favourite of the trilogy, this is a consequence of my unrealistic expectations rather than any failure on the part of the author. The trilogy must come to an end, and not all of the characters will find happiness. I especially liked the way in which Ms Dark set out the challenges faced by Governor Macquarie, and how he determined to meet them. The Mannions will have mixed success, the Aborigines very little success, while Conor Mannion herself will flourish. And Johnny Prentice? Can he find happiness?
I finished the novel wanting more, yet knowing that no amount of ‘more’ would really satisfy. If you are interested in Australia’s colonial history, then this trilogy gives a wonderfully detailed, nuanced picture of it. The good, the bad and the ugly.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
February 22, 2013
The final book in the trilogy - somewhat disappointing after the first 2 which were very good
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews