Daughter of the Hunter Valley in Aussie Readers

Sep 27, 2021 Brenda rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, historical-fiction, own-read, net-galley, debut, 2021-release, 5000-2021, read-on-kindle, aussie-authors, australian-history

Eighteen-year-old Madeleine Barker-Trent had left England, which had been her home her whole life, and also her beloved mother who had recently died. Maddy and her Mama were to join their father in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia, after he鈥檇 been there for some time, building up his property, Shelby, for them, the land on the edge of the Hunter River, the house on top of a hill overlooking the vast Australian bush. It was 1831 when Maddy arrived, after a long trip on a ship to Sy Eighteen-year-old Madeleine Barker-Trent had left England, which had been her home her whole life, and also her beloved mother who had recently died. Maddy and her Mama were to join their father in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia, after he鈥檇 been there for some time, building up his property, Shelby, for them, the land on the edge of the Hunter River, the house on top of a hill overlooking the vast Australian bush. It was 1831 when Maddy arrived, after a long trip on a ship to Sydney, then more travel to finally arrive at Shelby. But Maddy鈥檚 letter to her father hadn鈥檛 arrived and he was shattered to hear of his wife鈥檚 death. Though pleased to see Maddy, he needed time to come to terms with his wife鈥檚 death.

The big house Papa had bragged about was barely started, the small ramshackle hut where he laid his head at night barely big enough for one person. When Maddie鈥檚 Papa鈥檚 body was found, she realized she was now truly on her own 鈥� no parents, no siblings. Maddie鈥檚 grit and determination to follow her parent鈥檚 dream through saw her flouting all the 鈥榬ules鈥� of society, and when she picked up Jane from Parramatta as her maid, Jane proved herself as a hard worker, diligent and thorough. She was also a friend to Maddie. Along with Daniel Coulter, Shelby鈥檚 overseer and several convicts, Maddie and Jane began to prove their worth.

Around the district were other landowners whom Maddie came to know. She also discovered the danger of bushrangers, the malicious gossip from certain people, and the knowledge that the hard work was never done. Her horse, Red, was the one relaxation she allowed herself 鈥� a quiet ride for an hour or so, did her the world of good. But change was coming, and with it, danger. What would happen to this English girl who had never set foot outside England before arriving in the colonies?

Daughter of the Hunter Valley is the debut novel of Aussie author Paula J. Beavan, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Hunter Valley is my home as well 鈥� it鈥檚 a large area and encompasses many towns and cities, but back in the 1800s it would have been a wild and dangerous place. I did find Maddie a little annoying at times, but I also found myself rivetted to the pages as I raced to the finish. A fabulous debut, I hope Daughter of the Hunter Valley is the first of many for this author. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. ...more

38 likes · Like · see review

Sep 28, 2021 Helen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: review-copy-from-netgalley

What a fabulous debut, truly I fell into this book and loved the setting and getting to know Maddie, to see her grow into a strong and capable woman, a woman who could run a farm in colonial New South Wales and continue with her parent鈥檚 wishes and find true happiness made this a story that kept me invested throughout and cheering her on.

Madeline Barker-Trent has travelled to The Hunter Valley devastated at the loss of her mother but looking forward to finally being with her father on the farm i ...more

21 likes · Like · see review

Oct 07, 2021 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, historical-fiction, australian, rural-lit, aww2021, historical-fiction-challenge-2021

I really enjoyed this.

Maddy is a young woman who has been waiting with her unwell mother in England while her father builds a farm and home in New South Wales. Her mother鈥檚 frail health means she doesn鈥檛 survive to make the trip and then no one is waiting for her so Maddy must make the journey alone to the Hunter River, where her father is. Once there, she finds not a beautiful stone house like his letters promised, but a shack. And he hasn鈥檛 received her letters so he neither knew she was comin I really enjoyed this.

Maddy is a young woman who has been waiting with her unwell mother in England while her father builds a farm and home in New South Wales. Her mother鈥檚 frail health means she doesn鈥檛 survive to make the trip and then no one is waiting for her so Maddy must make the journey alone to the Hunter River, where her father is. Once there, she finds not a beautiful stone house like his letters promised, but a shack. And he hasn鈥檛 received her letters so he neither knew she was coming, nor does he know about her mother. And shortly after her arrival, Maddy finds herself an orphan.

She becomes determined to stay and turn the property into her father鈥檚 dream for it, to see it through to the end, which takes bravery and hard work. The conditions are very basic, although they have been blessed with good workers, mostly convicts assigned by the government that landowners can apply for. She also has overseer Daniel Coulter, a good worker and good man, who Maddy finds herself drawn to.

Not everyone in the area is as willing as Maddy to work hard and she finds herself the subject of gossip, for her desire to stay and turn the property into something wonderful and prosperous. She鈥檚 also a very eligible woman now and her appearance in the valley means that for the mothers with unmarried daughters, she is competition. Despite being viewed this way by some, Maddy does make some friends and people she can trust to go to for advice regarding things on the property and issues with her workers when they arise.

I felt like the author did a really wonderful job showcasing what it would be like for a young woman to come from England to somewhere that has a completely different climate. Maddy arrives in summer and each chapter lists the date as well as the weather. When Maddy arrives she has to acclimatise to the heat, the humidity and the often powerful summer storms. It鈥檚 very different to what she鈥檇 be used to and the living conditions probably don鈥檛 help. Her determination however, is very high and not the remoteness, nor the weather nor the day-to-day hard work can deter her. There are multiple dangers that she must watch out for, both as a woman considered to be vulnerable (the area has bushrangers) and as someone who is not particularly familiar with the surroundings and the locals (like snakes). Maddy finds a hard worker when she visits the Parramatta Women鈥檚 Factory to secure a companion maid to both be a help on the farm and also to avoid the impropriety of being alone on the property with only the male workers, many of whom are technically convicted criminals. Maddy chooses well in Jane who proves to be more than up to the task and takes to most things with relish.

Maddy faces many challenges, including the reluctant guardianship of a young child, whose connection to her she finds that she doesn鈥檛 want to investigate too closely. But despite people giving her advice to move the child on, she finds that she cannot and she鈥檚 determined to do what she believes to be the right thing, no matter how much it sets local tongues wagging. Maddy really doesn鈥檛 ever allow that to impact on her decisions which I found very admirable about her, at a time when there would鈥檝e probably been quite a lot of pressure for women to look and act a certain way and definitely there鈥檇 be things that a lady would just never do and the differences between Maddy and some of the other nearby women are highlighted during the planning of a social event, when it鈥檚 quite clear that there are two very different agendas.

My only real issue with this book is that I felt it actually ended a bit abruptly. There鈥檚 one thing that you know needs to be resolved for the book to finish and when it does, it鈥檚 basically on the last page and I really felt like the book could鈥檝e done with just a little more time to deal with this and make it so that it didn鈥檛 feel quite so rushed. It鈥檚 quite a small thing but I felt like there鈥檇 been some build up and then some conflict and it would鈥檝e flowed a little better if there鈥檇 been just a little more time spent on resolving it and showing the way forward for Maddy. But apart from that which really is a very small quibble, I thought this was an enjoyable read with great characters and a setting that I haven鈥檛 read too much in stories set during this time.

***A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Oct 31, 2021 Nikki Sims-Chilton rated it really liked it

1 like · Like

Sep 30, 2021 Kellie Schache marked it as to-read

Like

欧宝娱乐

From the Bookshelf of Aussie Readers…

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

What Members Thought

Aussie Readers