Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
One of my favourite subniches of Historical Fiction are stories which befit the category of ‘Feminist Historical Fiction’ – wherein the stories are have a strong voice for Feminism and/or strong women who are independently living a non-conventional life within the story itself. When I first heard of this novel I immediately connected with the premise and desired to know more about how the author wrote the narrative whilst at the same time, I knew eventually I would have to find a copy of it to read and experience myself.
One of the beautiful reasons I love reading Historical Fiction is not just to live through a portal of insight into the historic past but to understand different areas of the world through the story being written. In this case, travelling to a country I’ve appreciated since I was a young girl and uncovering a part of its History I had not previously known about is what makes me wicked giddy about featuring #newtomeauthors of this genre. The stories themselves seek to expound our understanding and our comprehension for the past whilst endeavouring not to repeat mistakes or cause events in the present or future which would hurt the progresses made after certain circumstances were addressed.
History best serves when it is remembered and learnt from rather than by having it hidden and obscured from view to where no one can lay hand or thought on what it taught us. This particular release is a topical story to be discussed and to be read – it is delving into the past in a reflective lens which will have bearing on today’s current events and the unrest in the world.
It is a pleasure of joy featuring Alison Booth on Jorie Loves A Story this morning and I am grateful for her candor and her willingness to discuss the key components of her novel which left me dearly intrigued to ask the questions which formed the basis of our discussion today. Be sure to brew your favourite cuppa and settle in for our conversation – I hope it might be a new book you’ll consider reading as much as I have added it to my own TBR!
The Philosopher's Daughters
by Alison Booth
A tale of two very different sisters whose 1890s voyage from London into remote outback Australia becomes a journey of self-discovery, set against a landscape of wild beauty and savage dispossession.
London in 1891: Harriet Cameron is a talented young artist whose mother died when she was barely five. She and her beloved sister Sarah were brought up by their father, radical thinker James Cameron. After adventurer Henry Vincent arrives on the scene, the sisters’ lives are changed forever. Sarah, the beauty of the family, marries Henry and embarks on a voyage to Australia. Harriet, intensely missing Sarah, must decide whether to help her father with his life’s work or devote herself to painting.
When James Cameron dies unexpectedly, Harriet is overwhelmed by grief. Seeking distraction, she follows Sarah to Australia, and afterwards into the Northern Territory outback, where she is alienated by the casual violence and great injustices of outback life.
Her rejuvenation begins with her friendship with an Aboriginal stockman and her growing love for the landscape. But this fragile happiness is soon threatened by murders at a nearby cattle station and by a menacing station hand seeking revenge.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9781913062149
Published by RedDoor Press
on 2nd April, 2020
Published by: RedDoor Press (@reddoorbooks)
Converse via: #HistFic or #HistNov, #WomensFiction #HistoricalFiction
as well as #HFVBTBlogTours
Available Formats: Trade paperback, Audiobook and Ebook
About Alison Booth
Alison Booth was born in Melbourne, brought up in Sydney and has worked in the UK and in Australia as a professor as well as a novelist. Her most recent novel, A Perfect Marriage, is in the genre of contemporary fiction, while her first three novels (Stillwater Creek, The Indigo Sky, and A Distant Land) are historical fiction spanning the decades 1950s through to the early 1970s. Alison’s work has been translated into French and has also been published by Reader’s Digest Select Editions in both Asia and Europe. Alison, who holds a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics, is an active public speaker and has participated in many writers’ festivals and literary events.
