AustLit

Shortly after the First World War, as a reward for his military services, a retired army officer moves his family from England to a farm in remote north-western Tasmania. Sally's adventures begin when the family acquires an extra 'guest' in the form of an abandoned baby following their arrival by steamer at Burnie. While searching for the child's mother Sally makes some surprising discoveries - not the least being a fearsome encounter with a band of rogues from the West Coast; the descendants of escaped convicts and aborigines. Teenage protagonist Sally and her siblings outwit the bandits before Sally finds true love with a simple farm-boy who turns out to possess a far more impressive pedigree than his appearance first suggests. England might be far away, but English class distinctions remain important. Although ultimately wooed into domesticity by dashing males, Marchant's female characters display relative degrees of fortitude, initiative and independence; the wartime services of Sally's older sisters are described at some length. As in The Apple Lady, the author's eclectic eye for source material is again evident in this novel; for example, the family property is located near the Campbell Range in 'the County of Wellington' - both geographic features prominent on contemporary maps accessible to Marchant.