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Wild Orchard
Just off the continent of Australia lies the island of Tasmania. It was to this pleasant land in the year 1840 that Jan Halifax brought his lovely young bride, Harriat Bracken. Theirs had been a quick and stormy courtship. Overriding the restrictions of the conventional clergyman and the family into which the beautiful Harriat had been born, Jan wooed her and carried her away to face with him the adventures of Van Dieman's Land, as Tasmania was then called.
She was equipped with no knowledge of what lay before her, but she loved her husband. That was enough. Wild Orchard is the story of how they strive to wrench a home out of the stubborn, discouraging "bush", and establish the name Halifax gloriously and solidly--in Island history.
She was equipped with no knowledge of what lay before her, but she loved her husband. That was enough. Wild Orchard is the story of how they strive to wrench a home out of the stubborn, discouraging "bush", and establish the name Halifax gloriously and solidly--in Island history.
318 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1945
19 people want to read
About the author
Isabel Dick
7 books1 followerCharlotte Isabel Atkins Dick aka Mrs. Ronald Dick aka C. I. Dick.
Isabel Dick was born in Tasmania, an island state of Australia, and wrote 25 books set there.
Isabel, or Daisy, was the daughter of Kate Shoobridge (b1850), one of Charlotte Shoobridge’s hard-working daughters, and Quaker accountant Charles Atkins. In 1887, when Daisy Atkins was six, several died during a typhoid epidemic in Hobart; Daisy caught it from her father and was, for a time, deaf, blind and speechless; her life was despaired of. She recovered, but wore thick-lensed glasses thereafter.
Isabel Dick was born in Tasmania, an island state of Australia, and wrote 25 books set there.
Isabel, or Daisy, was the daughter of Kate Shoobridge (b1850), one of Charlotte Shoobridge’s hard-working daughters, and Quaker accountant Charles Atkins. In 1887, when Daisy Atkins was six, several died during a typhoid epidemic in Hobart; Daisy caught it from her father and was, for a time, deaf, blind and speechless; her life was despaired of. She recovered, but wore thick-lensed glasses thereafter.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 9, 2015
I recently finished an angsty version of life in Van Diemen's Land -Tasmania- in 1840: Candice Proctor's WHISPERS OF HEAVEN. The story dealt with the darker side of the landowners and the convicts that lived there but I enjoyed it.
WILD ORCHARD also starts out in 1840, but in England. 'Jan' Halifax was sent there to learn the ins and outs of hop-making. He intends to return to his home place, Van Diemen's Land, and farm a piece of land given to him by his father. Except he meets a slight diversion in the form of Harriat Bracken aka 'Harry'.
She is plainspoken and a little too carefree for the stodgy Bracken family. Her father is Canon Bracken who intends on becoming a Bishop. Her parents love her but she constantly taxes their wits. She initially met Jan when she 'ran away' from home after getting into some trouble. Then she met him a second time at a carnival that came to town. She and her younger brother Monty were grounded and forbidden to go with the rest of the family. That did not deter them: they slipped out at night. Jan only finds out this after the fact.
He is twenty years old but has a plan and that plan now includes Harry. He proposes marriage after the second time they meet. You get the sense that the only reason Canon Bracken permits the wedding is to have less headaches.
WILD ORCHARD covers their quick wedding, the months-long journey on a ship and the trials of being in love, growing up (Harry is 17 when they get married) and making a go with their land.
The story was initially published in 1945 and the author brings up some racist and sexist issues but nothing too overwhelming. With the exception of Harry's family having a pious background, the religion ends there. My personal opinion is those that love Anne of Green Gables, Little House On The Prairie and historical fiction like this, will enjoy WILD ORCHARD.
It was about two young individuals whom meet, are attracted to each other before the wedding, fall deeply in love after they marry and wrestle through various hardships to succeed in the wild but beautiful country they call home.
WILD ORCHARD also starts out in 1840, but in England. 'Jan' Halifax was sent there to learn the ins and outs of hop-making. He intends to return to his home place, Van Diemen's Land, and farm a piece of land given to him by his father. Except he meets a slight diversion in the form of Harriat Bracken aka 'Harry'.
She is plainspoken and a little too carefree for the stodgy Bracken family. Her father is Canon Bracken who intends on becoming a Bishop. Her parents love her but she constantly taxes their wits. She initially met Jan when she 'ran away' from home after getting into some trouble. Then she met him a second time at a carnival that came to town. She and her younger brother Monty were grounded and forbidden to go with the rest of the family. That did not deter them: they slipped out at night. Jan only finds out this after the fact.
He is twenty years old but has a plan and that plan now includes Harry. He proposes marriage after the second time they meet. You get the sense that the only reason Canon Bracken permits the wedding is to have less headaches.
WILD ORCHARD covers their quick wedding, the months-long journey on a ship and the trials of being in love, growing up (Harry is 17 when they get married) and making a go with their land.
The story was initially published in 1945 and the author brings up some racist and sexist issues but nothing too overwhelming. With the exception of Harry's family having a pious background, the religion ends there. My personal opinion is those that love Anne of Green Gables, Little House On The Prairie and historical fiction like this, will enjoy WILD ORCHARD.
It was about two young individuals whom meet, are attracted to each other before the wedding, fall deeply in love after they marry and wrestle through various hardships to succeed in the wild but beautiful country they call home.
January 30, 2021
‘If Harriat Bracken on that fine April morning in the year 1840 had turned to the left and gone, as she had been bidden to do, straight up to her bedroom, all that is recorded here would never have happened.’
Harriat ‘Harry’ Bracken did not do as she was bidden, and instead met ‘Jan’ Halifax, a young man who had been sent to England from Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) to learn about growing hops. Harriat, the spirited daughter of a clergyman, falls in love. Jan is soon to return home to Van Diemen’s Land and he and Harriat marry, with her parents’ permission, after a very quick courtship.
Harriat leaves behind a conventional, genteel family, one in which class is important, to travel to the colonial frontier of Van Diemen’s Land. She knows nothing about Van Diemen’s Land, but she loves Jan and would follow him anywhere. And 17-year-old Harry and 20-year-old Jan, married, eventually arrive in Hobart. They do not stay there long, moving quickly to the land that Jan’s father has left to him when he turns twenty-one.
What follows is a heart-warming tale of survival against the odds, of triumph against adversity, of the power of friendship. Harry may not know much about living in the bush without assistance, but she quickly learns. She contends with an assigned servant who becomes a danger to her and her new-born child, she makes friends with the other settlers who live near by and she supports Jan. Jan has his own tribulations: family members who have taken his property require him to relocate to Hobart for a while.
Ms Dick ‘s novel touches briefly on the dispossession of the Indigenous occupants. She also has Harry meeting one of Tasmania’s more infamous bushrangers, Martin Cash. The novel ends as the Halifaxes are on the path to success. They complement each other perfectly, they are surrounded by good neighbours, and the land is full of promise.
This novel was published in 1946, and while it glosses over some of the negative aspects of colonial settlement, it does not ignore them. It is an easy, heart-warming read, which left me wondering what might happen next.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Harriat ‘Harry’ Bracken did not do as she was bidden, and instead met ‘Jan’ Halifax, a young man who had been sent to England from Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) to learn about growing hops. Harriat, the spirited daughter of a clergyman, falls in love. Jan is soon to return home to Van Diemen’s Land and he and Harriat marry, with her parents’ permission, after a very quick courtship.
Harriat leaves behind a conventional, genteel family, one in which class is important, to travel to the colonial frontier of Van Diemen’s Land. She knows nothing about Van Diemen’s Land, but she loves Jan and would follow him anywhere. And 17-year-old Harry and 20-year-old Jan, married, eventually arrive in Hobart. They do not stay there long, moving quickly to the land that Jan’s father has left to him when he turns twenty-one.
What follows is a heart-warming tale of survival against the odds, of triumph against adversity, of the power of friendship. Harry may not know much about living in the bush without assistance, but she quickly learns. She contends with an assigned servant who becomes a danger to her and her new-born child, she makes friends with the other settlers who live near by and she supports Jan. Jan has his own tribulations: family members who have taken his property require him to relocate to Hobart for a while.
Ms Dick ‘s novel touches briefly on the dispossession of the Indigenous occupants. She also has Harry meeting one of Tasmania’s more infamous bushrangers, Martin Cash. The novel ends as the Halifaxes are on the path to success. They complement each other perfectly, they are surrounded by good neighbours, and the land is full of promise.
This novel was published in 1946, and while it glosses over some of the negative aspects of colonial settlement, it does not ignore them. It is an easy, heart-warming read, which left me wondering what might happen next.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
October 12, 2011
Because of spending time "down-under" I have always been enthused to find books about any of the area.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews