The Australian Outback 1901: The brutal demise of Emily's family left her withdrawn and silent. She is known as The Crazy Orphan. A caring policeman saves her from an institution by delivering her into the hands of a famous Sydney doctor who almost mends her wounded spirit.
1901: A little girl wanders down a creek in central Queensland after the revenge massacre of her family. She becomes known as The Crazy Orphan and is rendered mute for two years.
A host of remarkable characters pour in and out of her life. The peoneering Wilsons and their six children provide the love that remains indelibly printed on her soul. An extraordinary event at the annual Racing Carnival has her venting her anger in an outburst that releases her vocal chords, but the incidentt has her banished from the community the same day.
A crusty policeman saves her from an institution after sensational reporting of The Crazy Orphan. She is delivered into the hands of a famous doctor who almost mends her wounded spirit.
At the age of 20 she falls in love with the heir to Jooloonga Station and reutrns (incognito) to central Queensland. Her unerring need to shed the trauma of her childhood drives her forward to accomplish amazing success in the cattle and racehorse industries. Her fiery ambition and tenacity dictate no boundaries - she leaves others of lesser spirit panting in her wake.
This exceptional novel with twists and turns of the heart captures the essence of a family through the two world wars and the great depression. Her only son, a famous polo player, war hero and cattle baron is widowed after the Second World War. He has his own demons to conquer after falling in love with the half-caste governess. The joining of mixed cultures unravels into an amazingly profound love story where seclusion and secrets are a way of life for twenty years.
Enjoy the enchanting beauty of the Australian bush, relish the unusual characters of inland Australia and above all become absorbed in a story incomparable - unusual - unique.
This is the first novel of the Coloured Sands Trilogy. Barbara Hartmann King was awarded an Australia Day Cultural Award for Coloured Sands.
Excerpt
Chapter 1 - Emily, 8 makes her way to the next settler’s home.
Bottlebrush and scraggy she oaks flourished along the sheer sloping banks of the waterway. Emily never once lifted her head to look around. A void and hauntingly wistful expression showing neither hate, fear nor remorse gave her countenance a vacant, eerie look. She stumbled on the uneven ground, which rose unexpectedly toward her concentrated stare. One bare foot insensibly followed another over the earth, sharp with stones or bindi-eye. Every couple of hours she stumbled into the water to drink ravenously with parched lips.
Chapter 11- Emily’s first week after marriage on Jooloonga Station: The mischievous servants are trying on her clothes...
‘How does I look in this one, Daisy?’ Jody put her hand on one hip and pulled a face at the mirror. ‘That fancy young missus don’t like us much - rather have that bitchy old Elsa any day - least she don’t give us such funny looks.’ She threw her head back and laughed. ‘She sure would chuck a wobbly if she could see us now, eh? That young snooty missus.’
Professional Reviews
Barbara Hartmann King - Coloured Sands
Cr Warren Hubner, Mayor of Murgon Shire said in his address: 'Once you start reading this book you will not stop until you've finished. I read right through the night and was in awe of the inspiration and talent of this writer – Coloured Sands is a real page-turner
Marooned is the 1860's saga of Justin Radcliff, a young American, who is beaten and thrown overboard by his evil twin brother, Edward.
Kolya, a handsome Black man and new leader of the transplanted Zulu tribe there, finds Justin caught in hi
