A Great Act of Love
I am new to Heather Rose’s writing, but I can’t remember when I have enjoyed reading a book so much. This is a story of family, flight, deception and reinvention set in beautifully described locations, whether the idyllic vineyards of pre-revolution rural France, Victorian London or the untamed bush of Van Diemen’s Land. The main protagonist is Caroline, whose aristocratic grandparents were beheaded during the French Revolution and whose father fled France as a boy to live in Edinburgh and then set himself up as an apothecary in London, a trade he is teaching Caroline. But there follows a series of disasters, culminating in Caroline’s father committing a murder and being sent to the notorious prison on Norfolk Island in Australia. Caroline becomes a governess and then, under her Aunt Henriette’s instruction, a high-class thief, before being rumbled. So she must flee and change persona, fetching up in Van Diemen’s land (modern day Tasmania) where she settles and, with the help of a runaway slave, Cornelius, brings an abandoned vineyard to life.
This is a fast-moving story set in violent times. Rose does not shy away from this violence, particularly when describing her own near rape, the brutality meted out to Cornelius, and the horrors of Norfolk Island and Port Arthur prisons. But this is balanced by joy and humour, too, and all the main characters are nuanced and believable.
It was good to see a real-life character feature (Captain Swanston was one of Melbourne’s founding fathers), but I did wonder why Mrs Swanston never returned from England. And I would also love to have had more details about Henriette’s storyline. She was such a vital force and unrepentant thief!
A thoroughly enjoyable, well researched, layered and satisfactory read from a highly skilled writer.
