AustLit logo
person or book cover
Image courtesy of Allen & Unwin
y separately published work icon The River Baptists single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2006... 2006 The River Baptists
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Set in a small riverside community, The River Baptists tells the story of Rose, bunkered down in a borrowed house overlooking the river, grieving for her dead father and waiting for her baby to be born. It is also the story of Danny, another refugee from life elsewhere, hiding out from his violent father and dreaming of owning a block of land on the river. Then there are the river old-timers, who miss nothing and forget less, and a newcomer who cares nothing for the locals, or the secrets of the past. Set over the course of a long hot tense summer, when sparks constantly threaten to ignite bushfires, the tight-knit riverside community is set alight by confidences betrayed and a renewed age-old grudge.

'And through it all flows the mysterious pulse of the river, indifferent, deep and calm, offering the possibility of life and death, renewal and rebirth.' (Publisher's blurb)

Notes

  • Dedication: For Brad and Ellie, with love.
  • Epigraph: Lord help me... / because my boat is so small, / And your sea is so immense. - Medieval French prayer

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 2006
    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2007 .
      person or book cover
      Image courtesy of Allen & Unwin
      Extent: 287p.
      ISBN: 9781741751932 (pbk.)

Works about this Work

Passion and Promise from Emerging Voices Matt Buchanan , Jenny Tabakoff , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 24-25 May 2008; (p. 30-31)
Secrets and Lies by the Riverside Lorien Kaye , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 13 October 2007; (p. 23)

— Review of The River Baptists Belinda Castles , 2006 single work novel
Writers with Readers in Mind Debra Adelaide , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , October vol. 2 no. 9 2007; (p. 21-23)

— Review of Napoleon's Double Antoni Jach , 2007 single work novel ; The River Baptists Belinda Castles , 2006 single work novel ; Ron McCoy's Sea of Diamonds : A Novel Gregory Day , 2007 single work novel ; The Low Road Chris Womersley , 2007 single work novel
In the Zone Barry Oakley , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 25 September vol. 125 no. 6588 2007; (p. 93)

— Review of Other Country Stephen Scourfield , 2007 single work novel ; Rohypnol Andrew Hutchinson , 2006 single work novel ; The River Baptists Belinda Castles , 2006 single work novel
Beauty in Images of Ugly Side Julia Ross , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 1 - 2 September 2007; (p. 23)

— Review of The River Baptists Belinda Castles , 2006 single work novel
Untitled Kabita Dhara , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , July vol. 87 no. 1 2007; (p. 53)

— Review of The River Baptists Belinda Castles , 2006 single work novel
In Tune with the Rhythm of Tides Dorothy Johnston , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 11 August 2007; (p. 13)

— Review of The River Baptists Belinda Castles , 2006 single work novel
Troubled Waters Katharine England , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 25 August 2007; (p. 12)

— Review of The River Baptists Belinda Castles , 2006 single work novel ; Nine Parts Water Emma Hardman , 2007 single work novel
Hawkesbury Capers Kate McFadyen , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 294 2007; (p. 36)

— Review of The River Baptists Belinda Castles , 2006 single work novel
Outsider's Eye on Secret River Lives Anne Susskind , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8-9 September 2007; (p. 12)

— Review of The River Baptists Belinda Castles , 2006 single work novel
Pick of the Crop John Dale , 2006 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 16-17 September 2006; (p. 8-9)
John Dale reports on the shortlisting of five manuscripts for the 2006 Australian/Vogel Literary Award. A synopsis is provided for each shortlisted work.
Vogel Prize Buys Some Writing Time Elisabeth Wynhausen , 2006 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 20 September 2006; (p. 7)
No Secret for Vogel Victor Nick Bray , 2006 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 20 September 2006; (p. 43)
Passion and Promise from Emerging Voices Matt Buchanan , Jenny Tabakoff , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 24-25 May 2008; (p. 30-31)
Last amended 12 Oct 2012 14:15:31
Settings:
  • Hawkesbury River, Hawkesbury area, Northwest Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales,
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X