AustLit

''A sprawling and surprising story of love, grief, loss and change that crosses generations and continents' Kate Forsyth.

'Matthew Fenchurch, patriarch and landowner of the northern NSW property Jarulan, lives in a grand decaying folly, invaded by ghosts and the local fauna. His wife is dead, one son has fallen on a battlefield in France, and another lives in exile as a remittance man on a marae in New Zealand. His only company are the farmhands, an old family servant and a part-time laundry maid with dreams above her station.

'When Matthew builds a memorial above the river for his brave lost son - and all the boys of the district who have died fighting for King and Country - his daughters and grandchildren return for the unveiling. They bring with them someone who will change life at Jarulan forever, who will fight the ghosts of the past and the claimants of the present, and ensure a dynasty, though not as anyone expected.

'Epic, sensuous, brimming with wildlife, love, beauty, babies, ill deeds, revenge, and unions - illicit and condoned - JARULAN BY THE RIVER is a glorious story of passion and redemption. A novel with the magic of Colleen McCullough, Bryce Courtenay and Cloudstreet.' (Publication summary)