The Woman in the Green Dress in Aussie Readers

Dec 13, 2018 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewing-by-request, aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, 5000-books, uncorrected-proof, 2018-release, historical-fiction, arc, own-read

Fleur Richards had married Hugh just before he was shipped back off to the war; his promises ringing in her ears of the clear blue sky, and bright sparkling stars in the best country of all 鈥� Australia. Fleur was a waitress in London and waiting for Hugh to return from the war that was now over filled her with excitement. She certainly didn鈥檛 expect to hear Hugh had died in the last days of the war; neither did she want the inheritance she learned Hugh had left her.

It was 1919 when Fleur arrive Fleur Richards had married Hugh just before he was shipped back off to the war; his promises ringing in her ears of the clear blue sky, and bright sparkling stars in the best country of all 鈥� Australia. Fleur was a waitress in London and waiting for Hugh to return from the war that was now over filled her with excitement. She certainly didn鈥檛 expect to hear Hugh had died in the last days of the war; neither did she want the inheritance she learned Hugh had left her.

It was 1919 when Fleur arrived in Sydney after the long sea journey. Her arrival at the Berkeley Hotel continued her search to find all she could about Hugh; his properties that were now apparently hers, including land at a place called Mogo Creek, and The Curio Shop of Wonders 鈥� which she鈥檇 walked past and noted it was abandoned and boarded up鈥�

1853 and Della Atterton lived on the property, Mogo Creek on the edge of the Hawkesbury River, while she tried to deal with her grief at the loss of her parents. Back in Sydney, Cordelia Atterton, her aunt, was caring for the Taxidermy shop which had been her father鈥檚. The sudden appearance at Mogo Creek, of Captain Stefan von Richter and his sidekick, Bert, with a fantastic tale plus news from Sydney, caused her anger to spark. How dare she! Accompanying the Captain and Bert, the three set off for Sydney, unaware of the events that would soon transpire 鈥� and the danger that would accompany those events.

The Woman in the Green Dress is another breathtaking historical fiction novel by Aussie author Tea Cooper. Set in and around Sydney, the Hawkesbury River and Wiseman鈥檚 Ferry, even the train trip from Sydney to Brooklyn 鈥� all so familiar. The Historical Note at the end is fascinating, showing how fact fed fiction, with information about certain characters and places. I loved the two time frames 鈥� 1853 and 1919 鈥� and enjoyed the descriptions of the countryside; laughing jackasses/kookaburras; even the different items in the curio shop. All in all, The Woman in the Green Dress is one I highly recommend.

With thanks to HQ Fiction for my uncorrected proof ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
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Mar 05, 2019 Helen rated it it was amazing

MS Cooper honestly you rock, what an amazing story, you had me glued to this book as I travelled back in time to 1853 and 1918, Sydney and around the Hawkesbury region, the settings are so beautiful and I truly felt I was back in these eras, as we meet some wonderful characters with personalities that shine, this is a story not to be missed.

We meet Fleur Richards in a London Tea Shop, it is 1918 and the war has just ended, Fleur is working hard and waiting for her Australian husband Hugh Richard MS Cooper honestly you rock, what an amazing story, you had me glued to this book as I travelled back in time to 1853 and 1918, Sydney and around the Hawkesbury region, the settings are so beautiful and I truly felt I was back in these eras, as we meet some wonderful characters with personalities that shine, this is a story not to be missed.

We meet Fleur Richards in a London Tea Shop, it is 1918 and the war has just ended, Fleur is working hard and waiting for her Australian husband Hugh Richards to come back safely so as they can start their lives in Australia only Hugh is killed in action and Fleur has inherited land and wealth like she has never known. Fleur is not convinced that Hugh is dead and travels to Sydney to find information and someone that deserves the inheritance more than her, but what she finds is a mystery in an old boarded up shop.

Della Atterton lives in 1853, she is heartbroken at the loss of her dear parents, her aunt Cordelia packs her off to the family farm in the beautiful Hawkesbury region, and Cordelia takes over the shop in Sydney, Della continues on with her father鈥檚 taxidermy profession, in the country and she is very close to the Aboriginal people, but worries over what is happening to them. When a stranger arrives Captain Stefan Von Richter looking for a precious opal, some happenings make Della to return to the shop in Sydney and her Aunt and here she discovers unexpected and odd happenings.

Fleur does a lot of investigating to uncover what she has found hidden in the old Curio shop, this unravels a bizarre past from her husband鈥檚 family of cover ups and an opal that is causing a lot of bad luck. I loved this story so much, it is beautifully written, the characters in both eras are so real, and it felt like I was walking beside Della and then later Fleur, this is a must read for anyone who loves a bit of mystery, some taxidermy and to discover how the colour green was kept so green, I learnt a lot of interesting things in this book thank you MS Cooper, awesome story.
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Dec 21, 2020 Kim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australian-fiction, borrowbox-act-library, australian-author, australian-women-writers, audio-books, 2020-listened-to-audiobook, historical-fiction

An easy to listen to Australian Historical Fiction. Great narration.
Two time lines that merge well together.
I'm not that keen on angst ridden heroines nor overly romantic historical fiction, having OD on a lot of formula driven novels of that type in my youth, and there were a few times when this verged into that and was a bit overdone. Fortunately there was enough that kept my interest going and there were a few interesting tidbits of info that kept the story rolling along.
Overall a good his ...more

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Apr 29, 2019 Rina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it from my local library. Turns out that was the right attitude going in, as everything it revealed fascinated me beyond my expectation.

Alternating between two timelines, approximately 60 years apart, the story followed two girls and one gentleman: Stefan von Richter, Della Atterton, and Fleur Richards. Motivated by different things, they ended up tracing a similar path around the same areas in Hawkesbury, Sydney.

A little bit of history, a li ...more

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Apr 21, 2021 Karen Field rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I was looking for something different to listen to while on my treadmill each morning and came across this audiobook. It's set in Australia, and as I know of the two locations (Mogo Creek and Sydney) and have visited them, I decided to borrow this book.

The author wrote the story over two timelines and then merged them together. It was well done. I especially enjoyed reading about the hardships of the two eras - 1853 and 1919. Both eras would have been difficult to live in, and I could appreciate ...more

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