AustLit

'When his friend Daniel Cartwright dies and names Rowland as his executor, Rowland must divert his plans to return home to Australia and travel to America. Daniel was vastly wealthy but appears to have disinherited his family in favour of a man called James Meredith, whom no one can find. Rowland and his troupe of friends embark on a journey that takes them through New York, Warwick and Baltimore as they track down answers to the questions that surround Daniel's death and the mysterious disappearance of James Meredith.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Part memoir, travelogue, history and part detective story, Luca Antara is a rich tapestry of history and the present. It parallels the life of the author, an émigré to Sydney, and the life of an historical figure, António da Nova, the servant of a Portuguese explorer who in the 1600s sends him to find out more about Luca Antara (now Australia).

'New to Sydney, Martin Edmond finds himself impoverished and displaced. He earns money as a taxi driver but spends his spare time frequenting second hand bookshops trying to learn more about the history of Australia and the wider region. The people Edmond encounters in his taxi and in his search for rare books are varied and strange, offering the reader a voyeuristic glimpse into Sydney's sub-culture.

'Sent to discover more about Luca Antara, António da Nova's crew mutiny and dump him on the West Australian coast. He is found by Aborigines [sic], who take him on an epic walk across northern Australia. Eventually he manages to return to his master in Portugal who awaits news of his explorations.

'Edmond's reading centres upon da Nova, but each book he reads leads to another and the subject becomes broader and increasingly fascinating. The lives of the two men and the strange customs and unique social mores of each man's culture and time intertwine throughout the book, ending with Edmond literally walking in the footsteps of da Nova across northern Australia.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Oldcastle Books ed.).