The Pearler's Wife

by Roxane Dhad

From the high seas to the deep seabed, from the latticed verandahs of Buccaneer Bay to the gambling dens in Asia Place, The Pearler's Wife is a stunning debut, inspired by a small yet pivotal moment in Australian history. A distant land. A dangerous husband. A forbidden love. It is 1912, and Maisie Porter stands on the deck of the SS Oceanic as England fades from view. Her destination is Buccaneer Bay in Australia's far north-west. Her purpose: marriage to her cousin Maitland, a wealthy pearling magnate - and a man she has never met. Also on board is William Cooper, the Royal Navy's top man. Following a directive from the Australian government, he and eleven other 'white' divers have been hired to replace the predominantly Asian pearling crews. However, Maitland and his fellow merchants have no intention of employing the costly Englishmen for long ... Maisie arrives in her new country to a surprisingly cool reception. Already confused by her hastily arranged marriage, she is shocked at Maitland's callous behaviour towards her - while finding herself increasingly drawn to the intriguing Cooper. But Maisie's new husband is harbouring secrets - deadly secrets. And when Cooper and the divers sail out to harvest the pearl shell, they are in great danger - and not just from the unpredictable and perilous ocean ...

620 pages, Paperback

Published May 7, 2018

Reviews

[Louisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed the beginning and middle of this novel. However it felt like the ending was rushed and came to a complete conclusion too soon. I felt like more could have been done with the ending.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Am writing this review a while after I finished, and now I'm struggling to remember it at all. Interesting setting, but ended up being a bit of an average romance read,

[Singer_SA · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an historical romance, I didn't expect to enjoy this book, but I found myself caught up in the historical aspects, which were authentic.
Maisie Porter is sent out from England by ship in 1912 to marry her cousin Maitland, who she does not know. He is believed to be a wealthy pearling magnate in Western Australia, Buccaneer Bay [Broome]. She has a chaperone, Mrs Wallace, who she comes to rely on utterly, both on ship and later.
Also on board are several British divers who have been sent out to Australia following a directive from the Aust Government to replace predominantly Asian pearling crews - part of the 'White Australia' policy. William Cooper, a top diver from the Royal Navy is one of these divers, with his tender JB.
Maitland and other pearl merchants have no intention of employing the costly Englishmen for long!
Maisie is strangely attracted to William while they are on the ship - and he to her.
When the ship arrives in Buccaneer Bay the marriage is carried out speedily and Maitland pays Maisie scant regard. He is more interested in his male colleagues, especially his long-time friend Blair, who is Mayor of the town.
Roxane Dhad paints the picture of Maisie trying to adapt to life in the heat and deprivation of Buccaneer Bay extremely well. She is struck by the absolute discrimination between the various races - indigenous, Japanese, other Asian and the white landholders. Maitland is a cruel, vicious man who beats his indigenous gardener and leaves him for dead. Fortunately Charlie does not die, but returns to Country and eventually returns to take his revenge on Maitland - which ultimately leads to his death.
Meanwhile Maisie is able to pursue her relationship with William by visiting the lugger each weekend and they eventually acknowledge their mutual attraction. William always feels very inferior because he cannot read. That has put him at great risk because he signed a contract with Maitland without understanding what he was signing!
Most of the British divers die from the bends. They are sent out to pearl beds that have already been scavenged so have no hope of finding much.
Maisie eventually finds out why her parents sent her out to marry Maitland. She contacts Maitland's mother and finds out more about his early life.
Once he dies, Maisie is free to pursue her relationship with William.

[Jennifer Larmar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased this book after being attracted by the cover, thinking it would be an interesting read and expecting the usual ending for this particular genre - historical drama set around a nasty/greedy husband and a gently simmering albeit forbidden love story - but unfortunately it fell short in a lot of ways.
In 1912, a young woman is sent from England to Australia by her parents to marry a distant relative she’s never met. Little does she know the skullduggery behind this match. Her new husband ignores her completely, treats his latest English pearl diver captain shamefully after the Australian government tries to to force the Asian divers, who work for a pittance, back to their former homelands, and is in cohorts with several shady characters.
For a debut novel, the research into the early 1900s Western Australia pearl diving industry was well interpreted, especially highlighting the racism that erupted at around the time ‘The White Australia Policy’ came into force, as well as the treatment of Aboriginals in those days, but I found the ending was just a mishmash of loose ends that the author tried to pull together without any real thought or passion - almost as though she was getting bored and just wanted to finish it as quickly as possible.
I hate giving less than encouraging reviews, so I went online to Goodreads to see if I was in the minority, but found a lot of others felt the same way.
Consequently, I can only give this 3 out of 5 stars.

[Catherine Rowntree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but did lose interest at the end. It was obvious what was going to happen. It’s a great insight into the pearl fishing trade of early Australia and also of the racial intolerance. Quite shocking actually and not that long ago.
I’m glad I didn’t live in that age. I can’t stand the way women were treated and had such little say in decisions affecting their life.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book which I purchased while on holidays in Broome.

[Beck F · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was a great disappointment.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good description of pearling industry in Broome

[N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intrigued by the context; set in a fictional town based on Broome. The plot was a little unbelievable and the characterisation of Maitland could have been explored a little more. His death was completely unnecessary and unexpected.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a nice read, was going along nicely and then just ended. There could have been a lot more to the story and it left a lot of unanswered questions. Maybe there is a sequel coming to finish the story?