Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Darry Fraser, Mira, $29.99.
The goldfields of Ballarat and 19th century Bendigo form the backdrop of this story of fervour, escapade and a woman’s quest for independence.
Nell Amberton’s husband is shot dead by a bushranger in Victoria in 1854. Nell is not at the top of the list to lament his passing. How is it possible that she miss the monster who had abused her from the day they married and who had already killed his innocent first wife? However, his death triggers a chain of events that seem to revolve around the handsome bushranger who murdered him – a man to whom Nell, against her better judgement, is drawn.
Nell has far more than a mysterious stranger to worry about. With a mess of complications around her late husband’s will, a vicious scoundrel of a father trying to sell her off in matrimony, and angry relatives pursuing her for her husband’s gold, she is more concerned with trying to ensure her safety and that of her friend, goldfields laundry woman Flora, than dealing with the kind of feelings that led her astray so catastrophically before.
This sprawling Australian saga reminds us of the trials faced by women in the 1800s in the midst of the gold rush. The Widow of Ballarat provides a stimulating insight into a bygone era – a period of settlement and discovery that also included restrictions for women who wished to declare their independence. Through Nell, however, we get to realise the importance of women’s rights. Fraser highlights the sense of insignificance, desolation, limitations and desire placed on women.
Here’s a compulsively readable story of passion, adventure and a woman’s quest for independence.
