Mango Hill

Australia #4

by Patricia Shaw

A ruthless aristocrat and an Irish squatter, Lord Jasin Heselwood and Pace MacNamara arrived in Australia with a hunger for land and a hatred of each other. Pace's pioneering spirit lives on through his three sons, John Pace, Paul and Duke, who find themselves at odds over their late mother Dolour's extraordinary will. Youngest son Duke is determined his brothers will not stand in the way of his ambitions, and purchases the splendid Mango Hill cattle station. Eager for land and rejected by the woman he loves, he joins a team heading west with a thousand head of cattle and encounters Edward, son of scheming Lord Heselwood. But bloodshed is on the horizon, as the group moves relentlessly towards a gathering storm of war with the warrior tribes of the great Kalkadoon nation.

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Patricia Shaw was an Australian novelist and non-fiction writer.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched story of the settlers and aborigines during Queensland's formative years. It follows the families in "Valley of Lagoons" and the next generation's trials and tribulations. It was a hard land especially for women. Many settlers treated the natives badly and often paid the ultimate price but just as many made peace with the local tribes and managed to coexist.

[J A Holder-Vale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another cracking story with such well drawn characters. Thank you Patricia Shaw, you certainly know how to keep an old fellah happy.

[M Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having visited modern day Australia several times it was interesting to hear the history of the places I have seen, and the attitude of the people.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a while to get into this book but I am glad that I persevered. The story is set in Australia in the 1880s. It's a tale of white settlers grabbing land and the effect that this has on the aborigine population. I enjoy books set in other countries and at other times so this ticked all the boxes for me. I felt that the 'action' jumped about quite a lot so was occasionally hard to follow but in the main it was very enjoyable. I will read more of this author's books.