Skylarking

by Kate Mildenhall

Kate and Harriet are best friends, growing up together on an isolated Australian cape in the 1880s. As daughters of the lighthouse keepers, the two girls share everything, until a fisherman, McPhail, arrives in their small community. When Kate witnesses the desire that flares between him and Harriet, she is torn by her feelings of envy and longing. But one moment in McPhail's hut will change the course of their lives forever. Inspired by a true story, Skylarking is a stunning debut novel about friendship, love and loss, one that questions what it is to remember and how tempting it can be to forget.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Australia, Audiobook, Book Club, Young Adult

308 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2016

About the author

Kate Mildenhall is the author of Skylarking (2016) The Mother Fault (2020) and The Hummingbird Effect ((2023). She lives in Hurstbridge on Wurundjeri lands, with her partner and two children.

Skylarking was longlisted for Debut Fiction in The Indie Book Awards 2017, and the 2017 Voss Literary Award. The Mother Fault was longlisted for the 2021 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and shortlisted for the 2021 Aurealis Science Fiction Novel of the Year. The Hummingbird Effect is due for release August 2nd 2023.

With friend and author Katherine Collette, Kate co-hosts The First Time Podcast – conversations with Australian writers – a podcast now in its sixth season.

Kate is currently undertaking her PhD in creative writing at RMIT. She can be found on Instagram at @kmildenhall and Twitter @katemildenhall.

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Absolutely beautiful setting, described wonderfully. An isolated Cape in Australia, a lighthouse keeper, his family and a few others that live on the Cape, and two girls with a friendship they hope will last forever. Days filled with fun, adventure, secrets, chores too of course, but we all grow up. A new young man arrives on the Cape, and this and he will change things between the girls, create a fissure in their friendship.

It is rare these days to find a story told in a straightforward manner, loved that this is one told in such a way. The tone is melancholy, reminds me a bit of Picnic at Hanging Rock, another fictionalized account of an actual happening. To see how these early families lived, how they handled the mostly solitary nature of their lives, their daily habits, was fascinating. The different ways grief was handled, and the forgiving nature of some, poignant. All in all a good imagining of a true tragedy.

ARC from Netgalley.

[Phrynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautiful book to read, the story of two young girls growing up in a very small community in Australia, their lives, their friendships and their loves.

The story is based on a true event, a tragedy which occurred in 1887 at Cape St George. The author has used many of the real names of the characters who were actually involved and then has spun a web of her own design to imagine how and why the event occurred. She does it well. I could feel for those poor girls and their families.

The book is beautifully written, hard to put down and full of fully fledged characters who make you keep reading to see what happens next. I recommend it.

[Amanda - Mrs B's Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

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Skylarking is a book that takes an atmospheric and introspective look at the powerful friendship that forms between two young girls while they come of age on an isolated lighthouse community in the 1880’s. This powerful Australian literary fiction tale is informed significantly on historical fact.

At the centre of this debut historical fiction novel is Kate, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper. Kate shares her life with Harriet, the daughter of the other lighthouse keeper. Together, the best friends endure the loneliness of life near the cape. Everything changes for the two young girls when a fisherman named McPhail arrives in their small seaside community. When a sense of desire and longing begins to flare for Harriet and McPhail, Kate feels left behind. This follows a tragic event in the small hut belonging to McPhail. The event changes the lives of Kate, Harriet and McPhail forever. Skylarking is a devastating novel that captures the feelings of love, friendship and loss of a young girl in her prime.

I recently read Salt Creek, another moving Australian historical fiction novel written by Lucy Treloar. The front cover quote that adorns Skylarking states: “A brave, beautiful and richly textured book that delicately explores the fault lines in love and friendship”. This quote from acclaimed author Lucy Treloar is completely substantiated. Skylarking is an exquisite debut novel that offers one the most powerful examinations into love and friendship I have read for some time.

Often the best historical fiction novels are those that are drawn from figures that existed in our past, or based events that occurred in times gone by. Skylarking is a novel that was inspired by the author’s trip to a camping ground, where by chance she came across an old grave belonging to Harriet Parker. Harriet lived near the lighthouse in the late 1800’s. Kate Mildenhall, a first time novelist, takes this real life figure, time period and location and presents the reader with a reconstruction of the events she believes played out between Kate and Harriet. The result is an exceptional novel that resonated with me.

Readers should be impressed by the skill of the prose presented in this novel. For a first time author Mildenhall displays great poise. Mildenhall’s prose is assured and graceful. I relished the reading experience I was offered through Skylarking. The passages that struck a chord the most for me were the passionately expressed descriptions of the natural surrounding landscape of the isolated cape region in which Kate and Harriet live. Equally colourful are the descriptions that give us a glimpse into the way of life on an isolated cape location. These include treacherous weather conditions, frequent shipwrecks and a lack of opportunity, especially for women residing at the cape.

Skylarking is narrated by Kate Gilbert, one of the main protagonists of the novel. Kate is an expertly drawn character. Mildenhall captures Kate’s wide eyed innocence, her awakening as a burgeoning young woman, her passion and her aspirations to have a life away from the lighthouse. Harriet is presented in equal measure character wise by Mildenhall. Harriet is a less headstrong than Kate but when the mysterious McPhail enters the girl’s lives, Harriet’s heart is opened to love hard and fast. The intensity of these adolescent emotions eventually wreck havoc between the two girls and McPhail, the fallout resulting in a tragic love triangle. McPhail is a significant character in Skylarking and is rendered with a deft hand. Mildenhall builds a strong picture of this stranger and fisherman, who unwittingly becomes embroiled in the lives of the two young girls from the cape.

Mildenhall handles the fateful event that occurs with a thoughtful and reflective tone. I didn’t see the catastrophic event on the horizon at all and the sense of shock it brought to me was unexpected. It took some time for me to get my head around what just occurred, the finality and the sadness of it all. But at the same time, the misunderstandings that arose could have prevented this tragic turn of events. Skylarking is a book that I needed to take a pensive look at once I brought myself to finish the novel. This is an indication of the strength of this novel.

Skylarking is a refined novel and an outstanding addition to the crop of Australian historical fiction novels that have been released in recent times. Mildenhall’s approach to conceptualising what happened to a real life figure Harriet Parker in the 1800’s at the lighthouse community is to be applauded. Skylarking is a stirring title that deserves high acclaim.

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a joy and relief these days to read a novel that is simply told. There is no jumping around in time and no changing points of view but just a novel of two girls growing up and their friendship. It also accurately portrays the jealousy and feelings that raise their heads when one starts to grow up and have different experiences before the other. This starts mostly when the fisherman McPhail arrives in the small community.
The novel is a fictionalised account of what could have happened on an isolated cape on the south coast of NSW in the 1880s. As one who lives in the area and has been to the ruins of the lighthouse and read the story of the tragedies that occurred there, this book had special significance. When I visited those lighthouse ruins I believed there was a story waiting to be told. Kate Mildenhall has told it, giving the reader her view of what may have happened. I was right there with Kate and Harriet and their parents and others associated with the lighthouse. The setting is beautifully portrayed and the characters Kate and Harriet come across well. There is a sense if tension as you wait for the tragedy to happen.
This is a gentle novel that does not race along but still has the reader turning the pages because it is beautifully and sensitively written. Even though I am not one not overly enamoured of coming of age novels and those which feature young characters, I enjoyed this novel. What a beautiful cover too! It is a gentle haunting book about friendship, love and loss. Recommended reading and I’ll be very interested to see what Kate Mildenhall writes next.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate and Harriet had been best friends all their lives – Kate’s father was the head lighthouse keeper and Harriet’s father was his assistant. Together their families had lived through heat, cold; summers and winters on the isolated cape on the edge of the Australian coastline. It was the 1880s and Kate and Harriet grew up knowing fun and laughter, adventures and love.

Harriet was two years older than Kate and suddenly Kate could see her friend was turning into a young woman. She was at times jealous of Harriet’s gentle curves until her own body began to change. But it was when a new man arrived and took over the abandoned fishing cottage that tensions simmered. Kate could see the looks shared between Harriet and McPhail and even though he was a good bit older than the girls, he was a rugged, attractive man.

When Harriet was seventeen, she went to Melbourne to spend three months with an aunt. Kate was so happy to see Harriet return – she had missed her dreadfully and their adventurous spirits immediately took over once again. But the course of events over one day was to change lives irrevocably…

Skylarking is the debut novel by Kate Mildenhall and wow! what an exceptional journey she has taken the reader on! Based on a true story, it is set in Jervis Bay, New South Wales in 1887 and takes place at Cape St George where there was a small community devoted to the upkeep and care of the lighthouse. The Author’s Note at the end of the book is very interesting and tells how the author came upon the story – but don’t read the Author’s Note until the end, as there are spoilers involved. Highly recommended.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this debut novel, Kate Mildenhall re-imagines what could have happened to cause a tragic event that occurred in a small coastal community in the 1880s. As the only girls in their mid teens, Kate and Harriet are close friends in the isolated community around the lighthouse where Kate's father is the keeper. However, as they grow older and a handsome fisherman arrives in the community, they compete for his attention and jealousy starts to creep into their relationship. The tension builds slowly up to the tragic incident that tore apart their lives and their families.

This is a gently told story. It focused mostly on the details of daily life in a small community and the freedom the girls enjoyed as they were growing up but also the need for them to leave one day if they wanted to marry and have families. It was easy to relate to Kate, who as the narrator told us of her feelings and her yearnings to experience the wider world. Harriet felt more distant and a little spoiled, especially after visiting Melbourne to look for a suitor.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first novel is inspired by the true story of two friends, Kate Gibson and Harriet Parker. They were the daughters of lighthouse keepers, who grew up together, in a small, isolated community on the coast of Australia's Jervis Bay Territory, late in the 19th century.

Certain facts are public record; the story that underpins those facts is imagined.

I love that this is a story of female friendship, very firmly rooted in a particular time and a place that the author had taken time and trouble to understand. And that it was told in one voice, a voice that always rang true, and that told the story from start to finish, with no shifts in time and no digressions.

The younger of the two girls, Kate, tells her story.

Her world is a small one, and she only really knows the families of the other men who work at the lighthouse with her father. There are a few fishermen who have settled nearby and just about make a living, and there are native people who live a little further away; but there is nobody else. That makes the friendship between the two girls particularly precious.

Kate is bright, bookish, brave, and loves to explore the world around her while she waits to grow up and have the kind of adventures, and see the kind of places, that she has only read about in books. She is eager to explore every bit of the world open to her - cliffs, beaches, grasslands - but her friend lacks her natural agility and confidence, and so she struggles to keep up and occasionally get into difficulties. Harriet is calm, quiet and much more cautious; and she dreams not of adventure but of a husband, a home and a family of her own.

'Even though the peppery scent of the scrub on that headland ran through my blood, I knew that there must be other places that would thrill me. And while I hoped that Harriet would be by my side as I ventured off into the great unknown, I knew this was unlikely, Where I had dreams of boats and pirates and coral island adventures, Harriet saw a future of home and hearth ...'

The details of their world and their lives are quite beautifully drawn; it is clear that that the author has researched and that she has understood, and she has woven what she learned into the story she in a way that feels completely natural and right. I had a lovely time watching the way the small community worked and all of the domestic details, but, for me, it was when Kate was exploring her world that the story really sang.

I could pick up the sea saltiness in the air, I could feel the breeze; I could see grass and flowers give way to cliffs, and the beach below ; I knew exactly how it felt to move through the world that Kate knew so well.

Although I am on a different coast on the other side of the world it felt so like home, and it brought this painting to mind:

(Amanda Hoskin - View of St Michael's Mount from the Fields)

A newcomer would unsettle the friendship between the two girls. He was a young fisherman who came closer to the community around the lighthouse then others did. Each girls is drawn to him, but he responds to them and treats them quite differently. Kate is jealous, and Harriet is reluctant to talk.

Then her family sends Harriet to visit relations in Melbourne, because they want her to meet more people and see other possibilities before she makes any decisions about her future. Kate is thrown into the company of the local boys and younger children, and she misjudges situations and makes mistakes.

Her behaviour is far from laudable, but I recognised her emotions and I understood her actions.

Tension grew, and my head was full of questions about what was happening, what would happen.

There were maybe too many questions, but that was, at least in part, because the facts that this story is spun around are difficult to explain.

I have to say that is a weakness; but I also have to say that all the things she did well in the book - the way she drew me into a world, a community and a story- tell me that Kate Mildenhall will write something quite wonderful when she finds the right story to tell.

I was captivated by this book; and so I'm hoping that one isn't too far away ...

[PattyMacDotComma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5★
“ Skylarking is a work of fiction, based on the true story of Harriet Parker . . . her best friend, Kate Gibson, . . . the hut of Donald McPhail at Cape St George in 1887. I came upon this story while camping with dear friends . . . at Greenpatch camping ground in Jervis Bay, New South Wales.”

This is an edited version of the Author’s Note at the end of the book, and it does show the bare bones of the story she had to work with. For her debut, she has created a believable story that I think would suit young people as well as an adult audience.

Kate and Harriet. I always think of them in that order because the story is told from Kate’s point of view. Kate is the instigator of all the adventure, the fun, the picnics, the big-picture thinking. She’s the one who reads all the books Harriet receives as gifts. Harriet can’t be bothered.

They live with their families and a handful of others at Cape St George where Kate’s father is the head lighthouse keeper. There are other children and there have been more. The various families have been touched by tragedy, but it’s their parents who suffer most, not the girls. And we don’t really share that suffering, because we are in Kate's head.

Most of their time is spent romping around the island, playing on the beach, collecting mussels in rock pools and generally dividing their time between household chores and skylarking. As they hit their mid-teens, Harriet matures more quickly, and finally, Kate begins to catch up.

“I knew it was a line I was crossing, from childhood to adulthood, and I wanted to stay and I wanted to go, and I wanted to be able to be in both places forever more.”

That one sentence pretty much sums up Kate’s attitude to life. She wants to live on the cape forever but she wants to see Melbourne and travel the world. She doesn't really want to be her mother.

And she feels very much second to Harriet in looks. The girls are being fitted for new dresses, and I imagine many women have felt this way about themselves.

“Hers was a smooth silhouette, tucked in at the waist and curving into the proper shape at the chest, whereas Mother always told me that I looked as if I’d been wrestled into each dress she made me.”

But she knows that, best friends or not, they are different creatures.

“I wanted to dive deep down, skimming the sandy bottom of the ocean with my bare skin. I wanted to glide through fingers of pink weed and velvety fronds of green and come face to face with a mullet, or a gummy shark, slide up to the rubbery flank of a great whale and feel her song vibrate through my cheek to the very centre of my brain and understand what she told me. These were the peculiar thoughts I never shared with Harriet, or anyone else.”
. . .
Sometimes I felt as if there were something amiss in my make-up. That all the pieces had not been put together right. You couldn’t see it from the outside – no, it was my inside that was awry. It made me recoil at the thought of marriage, made me dream of sailing away, of living beneath the ocean. Sometimes on the rocks you could get within a foot of a dead seal, if the wind was blowing away from you. The rocks would obscure it, and you could be right over it, about to step into the putrefying flesh, before you inhaled the unholy whiff of it and realised you’d been breathing it in all along. That’s all that was needed for me to be found out; a wind change, and someone would sense what was rotten inside of me.”

The girls are fascinated by a handsome, mysterious fisherman (McPhail), and like to wander around near his cottage, kind of tempting fate. They have no idea what they might be tempting, but they love the thrill. Kate is jealous that McPhail and Harriet seem to be a bit attracted to each other, and when Harriet returns from a long visit to Melbourne (sent away to avoid McPhail!), they can’t help going back there.

The event at the end is the real one on which the book is based, and it is a shocker!

There are many homespun scenes of baking ginger cakes and puddings and bread and heating up the washing water and minding little children, but the main story belongs to the girls.

I expect to see more from Kate Mildenhall.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in a tiny lighthouse community in the Jervis Bay area towards the end of the 19th century, this is the story of best friends, Kate and Harriet. Kate is the younger by a couple of years; smart, bookish, quite wilful, and supremely confident in the physical environment where her father is the head lighthouse keeper. In many ways Harriet - the blond, beautiful, only child - seems less mature. But this probably helps to make their relationship more equal. The story is told from Kate's point of view, and Mildenhall has managed to provide her with a really strong, consistent voice over the 6-7 years in which the story unfolds.

As the girls begin to blossom into young women, the arrival a handsome fisherman in the settlement causes strain between the friends. He only has eyes for one, but it is the other who has disquieting dreams about kissing him. The tension builds steadily until the situation is resolved in the most dreaded way.

I enjoyed every page of this debut novel by Kate Mildenhall. After hearing her speak at MWF 2016, I thought I had a pretty good idea of how this story, inspired by a true historical incident, was going to play out, but I had it all wrong and that made the tragic climax all the more quietly devastating for me.

An excellent example of historical speculative fiction, set in Australia.

[Brooke - Brooke's Reading Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

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Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall. (2016).

As daughters of lighthouse keepers, Kate and Harriet are best friends growing up together on as isolated Australian cape in the 1880s. Everything changes with the arrival of the fisherman McPhail and Kate sees the attraction between Harriet and McPhail. One moment in his hut will change the girls' lives forever.

*For those that don't know, skylarking basically refers to silly/frivolous behaviour or playing around.

This intriguing novel is a fictional retelling of a real event. It is written very well and really immerses you into the story so you could easily imagine that this is really what happened. There isn't a lot of action per se until the end but that doesn't stop the book being quite riveting. Kate and Harriet's friendship from small children to adolescence living in such a small community is very absorbing.
Overall, a great fiction book about a fascinating true story involving friendship, love and loss that made me want to look further into the real events.

[Ace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kate and Harriet are the daughters of Lighthouse Keepers on a remote coastal location on the south NSW coast. A ship comes monthly to deliver supplies and letters and provides transport out when required. The girls are quite young when we meet them, but as the book progresses, the girls mature, boys come into the village and from the innocent and sometimes annoying eyes of Kate, we see significant shift of friendships and loyalties. It's a sad book really, even though the environment is harsh but beautiful, there is probably not enough to keep Kate occupied and she seems to stew in her own emotions and mess things up left right and centre. I couldn't really connect with her, and Harriet is not the kind of girl that I would have developed a friendship with (although out in the middle of nowhere, I perhaps would not have been so fussy). There is a tragic ending and it kind of dazzled me, but at that point I could believe just about anything. Who knows what really happened? The judge pronounced his verdict. At the time, it was probably the best possible outcome and solution. My heart did go out to Harriet's mum.

Not sure that all stories need to be told, but it's in the hands of the storyteller and the reader to determine how they feel about something that happened so long ago. I'm glad there was an inquest, but the author made it seem like there was more to the decision than Skylarking.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I've been intrigued by this book for a good 12 months now. I mean...THAT COVER!!! It's basically the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. Plus, it's Australian YA historical fiction that tells the story of two girls whose fathers are lighthouse keepers. Um. YES PLEASE.

Honestly, I think the best way to describe this book is "quiet". It's set over about 6 years, but there's often very little indication that you've suddenly jumped forward several months or a year. It's inspired by actual events, and if you know what the actual events are, then you pretty much know from the very beginning how the story is going to end.

Essentially, it's the story of female friendship, and how it can change dramatically during your teen years. How one minute, you just want to be one of the kids, playing on the beach, and the next you want nothing more than to have the same male attention that your more attractive friend is getting. And how you can be torn between jealousy over the attention that your friend is getting and jealousy of the person your friend is choosing to spend time with other than you.

It's very evocative of times and place, and I kind of want to become a lighthouse keeper now...

[MaryannC Victorian Dreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A haunting and amazing read, this one left me breathless when it ended. This debut is based on the true story of two girls Kate Gibson and Harriet Parker, daughters of lighthouse keepers who are the very best of friends on the cusp of young adulthood while growing up along the coast of Jervis Bay Territory Australia in 1887. Told through the eyes of Kate she tells us this story of two friends who share their secrets, dreams and wishes as they begin to grow from girls noticing their budding womanhood and feeling their first yearnings of attraction, jealousy and betrayal when a young fisherman, McPhail comes to settle amidst their families. Beautifully written and descriptive the author has you smell the briny air of the coast, see the rocky landscape along the shores and feel the homespun warmth and comfort as Kate and her mother bake their breads and pies for the men working at the lighthouse. Without giving away any more details because I want other readers to experience this, it is truly a wonderful read, I just couldn't put it down till I finished it. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Kate Mildenhall for this fabulous read that still haunts me as I write this review and to NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Nomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked a lot of elements in Skylarking:
~ the lighthouse setting (I've always loved the romanticism and mystery that lighthouse settings can bring)
~ the Australian historical vibe ~ atmospheric and transporting
~ the exploration of adolescent girl-best friendship ~ in all is messy love/envy/confusing changing seasons
~ the way different romantic elements were handled (nothing was straightforward and it rang true from crush confusion, romantic daydreamings, and figuring out heart vs lust vs ideals vs reality, etc)
~ the family vibe ~ the cast of characters felt real and nuanced

Skylarking had a seamless feel where I felt lulled into the story. One drawback for me was at times the book felt like a series of anecdotal stories of life at an isolated lighthouse setting with the occasional sentence thrown in every chapter or so to remind the reader that something terrible was up ahead. This kind of foreshadowing made me truly impatient to burn through the read and get to the reveal rather than sink into the story and just relax. I was really curious as Skylarking is based on a true story and I had no idea how sinister/tragic/scandalous things would get. The ending, when it came, was haunting (especially considering the truth of the story). I truly felt for the characters and wish I could know more! (I need a wikipedia page! With more links and info!)

[Suzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel based on a true story. It was an entertaining read, although some threads were left unresolved, presumably intentionally

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this book. The setting is interesting, and I'm always intrigued by stories inspired by real events. I liked the gentle development of the story, which showed the quiet pace of life at the lighthouse interspersed with more exciting episodes such as a beached whale.

However, I found the narrator Kate a bit irritating, particularly her teen angst about men, puberty and relationships. I also couldn't warm to the character of Harriet. The friendship of these two girls is at the core of the story, so my disengagement with their characters made it harder to enjoy the book.

I also felt there was a bit too much foreshadowing. It's clear from the prologue that the story is building towards a tragic denouement, but this is reinforced again and again as the story progresses and it seemed like overkill to me.

Overall, however, I found this to be a pleasant, easy read.

[Michael Livingston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fine accomplishment - a fictional retelling of a small and forgotten moment in Australia's history. Mildenhall's reimagining of the small lighthouse community is convincing, and the chain of events that ratchet up of tension as the book moves towards its denouement are beautifully pieced together. I wasn't quite convinced by the central friendship, but this is an enjoyable read and a promising debut.

[Calzean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't say this grabbed me. Two girls living in a remote community of lighthouse keepers. There is some simmering sexual awakenings, then a surprise accident which came out of left field. It's a historical piece but it could have been in any place, at any time.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been gayer. The end was dissatisfactory.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful find! (seriously, thank you JL!!)
For lovers of Australian history, respectful and enigmatic observations of our First Peoples, superbly vivid depictions of wild, natural landscapes and an intriguing mystery based on a real event. Kate Mildenhall has done a sterling job with this little novel, seemingly without the full complement of fanfare and accolades her creation deserves.
This should be on every "Others also enjoyed..." list for:
Hannah Kent's Burial Rites,
Favel Parrett's When the Night Comes,
Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett, and even the highly-lauded
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, for which Skylarking could be nominated as the minimalist Australian version.
Kate I will never forget your portrayal of the Milky Way as seen from remote Jervis Bay in the 1880s. Your ability to paint vividly with words - both setting and character - is awesome.
Don't be deceived by the apparently simple telling of this tale. The novel is filled with tension and one is never quite sure if the narrator is entirely reliable in her perceptions.
I loved it!

[Butterfly2507 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually love the fact that it's based on a true story. Kate Mildenhall relives a story set in 1880 and imagines what could have happened later on. And what could have happened before, leading to this tragedy.

It was a fast read and really interesting. If you're interested in the sea, Australia, friendship and growing-up, this book is definitely for you. The writing was beautiful, easy to read and I loved the fact that there are actual statements and bits and pieces from the real story (especially the quote by one of the doctors).

This is Kate's debut novel and I certainly can't wait to read more! :)

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad effort for a debut novelist. It was an easily read story, and made me think about the changing roles of women in society and the difference between happiness and contentment. However I thought the ending felt a bit anticlimactic. 3.5★

[Reannon Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I keep telling everyone to read it. It reminds me of The Strays & The light between oceans. And when the reason behind the title becomes clear I cried.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The outline sketch of the lighthouse and cape that greets readers of Kate Mildenhall’s debut novel Skylarking is both enigmatic and enticing. It serves to both set the scene and preface the idea that it is a remembered setting, that we are revisiting the past.

There is a simplicity to the book which makes it an easy and enjoyable read. There is a single narrator, also called Kate, who manages to capture a quality of mature, thoughtful reflection as well as the childish certainties of her remembered youth. There is a confessional feel at times when she reveals secret shame and innermost thoughts. At other moments a broad brush sweeps great swathes of personal and social history into a few concise lines.
I hesitate to use the word nice in reviews in case it is taken as a criticism or perceived as unimaginative but this is a genuinely nice book. It does not try too hard to be clever or confusing. It presents a personal history with a nice balance of truth and subjectivity. It captures the human condition and a recognisable range of experiences and emotions.
There isn’t much to this book and, if anything, I would have liked a little more but if that is the worst thing I can say about a novel, it must be doing pretty well. I had not heard of the true story on which Skylarking is based so cannot really comment on its accuracy but it is certainly worth a read.

[Elizabeth Corbett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up on a remote life house station, Kate and Harriet are best friends. When the mysterious fisherman, McPhail moves into a nearby, a subtle tension rises as their bodies begin to mature. Yet the closeness of their friendship looks set to prevail until an afternoon of skylarking in McPhail's hut changes everything.

This is an exquisite book written in Mildehall's haunting prose. An ode to youth and friendship, for all who have walked the rocky path to womanhood. A tender tender tragedy. I didn't want the story to end.

[lilli clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was beautiful, and simple and complicated and reminded me of the fleeting light of childhood and the ominous pressures of growing up straight and narrow and exactly how you’re meant to grow. like we are pre determined bodies and not spirals of humanity that fail sometimes and love bravely or foolishly or secretly.

kate and harriet were both foreign and relatable to me and that’s what makes me read on.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This initially is a gentle read, detailing the powerful friendship between two young girls whose fathers are keepers of a lighthouse. Their childhood on an isolated Australian cape is idyllic in many respects, when one considers the fierce beauty of the surroundings, and the freedom to grow up unencumbered and unthreatened. Life is hard, though, and they are of course at the mercy of the elements. Imaginations are key, as well as being central to their play and development. Their innocence does take a sharp, unexpected turn, however. I was intrigued, knowing this tale is based on an actual occurrence, but I couldn’t see it coming. The names of the characters are actually the same as those of the real people on whom the novel is based. Seems quite unusual!

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written, and I enjoyed the Enid Blyton-ness of the girls days.

I waited & waited as the tension for something to happen eventuated. And then it did.

No spoilers, but it took my breath away.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like stories based on historical events then you might enjoy 'Skylarking' by Kate Mildenall, for it's an imagined story based on a true event in 1887 on an isolated Australian cape.
First of all, the cover is beautiful.
Two girls have grown up as best friends, daughters of the two lighthouse keepers. It is when they move through adolescence that their relationship subtly changes. One of the girls is retelling their lives as she remembers them in her old age. The defining incident (the incident that actually happened) occurs almost at the end of the book, so most of the story describes, very slowly and hypnotically, life at the lighthouse, everyday rituals of the families, their far-flung neighbours, the sightings of Indigenous people, the rugged yet beautiful surroundings, the games the girls played and their increasing annoyance with each other - as the author imagines them. Somehow I could not warm to the two girls and that spoilt the story for me. I am not sure I agreed with how the author portrayed the relationship, even though I know she is describing the angst of teenage lives. There was too much emphasis on Kate's confusing sexual feelings, and the beautiful Harriet came across as spoilt and arrogant, who enjoyed toying with Kate's devotion. I was not convinced that theirs was ever a great friendship, nor that this is how the real-life girls would actually have been like. It all ended rather abruptly. The brief Epilogue was weak in that it didn't add much to the story, and I never really got to understand Kate's character after 'the incident'.

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel which gives us the story of the friendship between Kate and Harriet on a remote lighthouse in the 1880s is based on real events. While 'lighthouse' and '1880s' in the setting and timing evokes memories of The Light Between Oceans, this is a very different story, although still covering some moral dilemma. However if you enjoyed The Light Between Oceans, you will likely enjoy Skylarking as well.

Despite being set more than a century before my own adolescence, there really is so much that is relatable. I identified quite a lot with Kate and how she negotiated her friendship and admiration of Harriet. Kate not wanting to share Harriet with anyone else is a situation that could have been lifted directly from a number of my early high school friendships.

Kate and Harriet of the book probably had more freedoms than the real-life Kate and Harriet would have had in the 1880's, whose chores and society's expectations of young ladies probably would have hindered them more than Mildenhall has let us in on.

In the end, I'm not sure there could be any tougher way to transition into adulthood, but Skylarking captures the last moments of innocence and the loss of childhood in a beautifully written story.