AustLit

'When Ruth Morris is moved into Banksia House by her workaholic son Michael, she is eighty-one years young, mourning her loss of independence, and missing her best friend Gladys terribly.

'So when she learns Gladys is dying a state over in Brisbane, Ruth is determined to say goodbye. Enlisting the help of her fellow residents, Ruth makes a daring departure from Banksia House alongside renowned escape-artist Keith, and her formidable new friend Beryl.

'The journey from Sydney is far from straightforward, featuring grimy hostels, hitchhiking, and a mild case of grand theft. This unlikely trio finds themselves on the trip of a lifetime, where new connections blossom amidst the chaos. But the clock is ticking and Gladys awaits - will they make it across the border in time?

'In this joyous and captivating read, debut author James Roxburgh delivers a heartwarming tale that will have you cheering for Ruth from beginning to end.'

Source : publication summary

'Sydney, present day. Anna is released into the world after eight years in prison. The entirety of her possessions stuffed into a single plastic bag. The trauma of her past, a much heavier burden to carry. Feeling hopeless, isolated and deeply lonely, Anna attends an alternative support group; The Women’s Circle. But when she touches an ancient crystal, Anna  connects to a woman she has never met, in a past she doesn’t recognise.

'In 1770, a brutal regime torments the English village of Quarrendon and is determined to keep its women apart. Young villager Aisleen desperately seeks a way to defy the rules, reunite with her sister, and live life on her own terms, without her husband’s permission. The stakes are high and terror of punishment inescapable, but doing nothing comes at an even steeper price...

'While separated by generations, Anna finds herself drawn to the spine-chilling and courageous plight of Aisleen and Quarrendon’s women. Can their bond help her to face her past and embrace her second chance at life?

'A heart-warming and inspirational portrayal of inner strength and vulnerability, The Women’s Circle shows us the true power of female friendship in all its forms.' (Publication summary)

'When Gough Whitlam moves into her street in Cabramatta in 1957, eight-year-old Christine has little idea how her new neighbour, one of the most visionary and polarising political leaders of Australia, would shape the direction of her life. Born to working-class parents and living in a fibro house built by her truck-driver father, Christine simply dreams that one day she might work as a private secretary like her aunt.

'But when the reforms Whitlam championed give Christine the chance to go to university, her world expands. She experiences the transformative power of education, struggles to balance motherhood with being the family breadwinner, and faces her own mental health battles. She follows a path forged by Whitlam, from scholarships he fought for, to local community initiatives he generated, and even as far as China, where Whitlam crucially initiated Australia’s relationship when he visited the country in 1973.

'Written with genuine heart and humour, Gough and Me is a nostalgic and deeply personal memoir of social mobility, cultural diversity, and the unprecedented opportunities that the Whitlam era gave one Australian working-class woman.' (Publication summary)

'When South African Jewish academic Hayley Katzen moves to a remote Australian cattle property to live with her farmer girlfriend, she hopes, at last, to find home.

'But this is no happy-ever-after tree change. Lecture halls, law reform and the arts are replaced with castrating calves, shovelling manure, fire-fighting and anti-gas blockades. In a place that attracts people who live by their own rules, Hayley must confront her limitations and preconceptions to forge her own identity.

'Set in the unpredictable beauty of the Australian landscape, and told with Hayley Katzen's compelling candour and rigour, Untethered charts one migrant's search for home. Part love story and part off-the-grid adventure, Untethered is a powerful reminder that home can be found in many forms - in love, in family and friends, in ideologies and political movements, in landscapes and communities, and ultimately, in ourselves.' (Publication summary)

'Chris Flood – a married father of two with plummeting self-esteem and questionable guitar skills – suddenly finds himself in the depths of polyamory after years of a near-sexless marriage. His wife, Sarah – a lover of the arts, avid quoter of Rumi, and always oozing confidence – wants to rediscover her sexuality after years of deadening domesticity.

'Their new life of polyamory features late nights, love affairs and rotating childcare duties. While Sarah enjoys flings with handsome men, Chris, much to his astonishment, falls for a polydactylous actor and musician, Biddy.

'Then there’s Zac Batista. When Chris and Sarah welcome the Uruguayan child prodigy and successful twenty-two-year-old into their lives they gratefully hand over school pick-up and babysitting duties. But as tensions grow between family and lovers, Chris begins to wonder if it’s just jealousy, or something more sinister brewing…

'A searing and utterly engrossing debut, Poly is a raw, hilarious, and moving portrait of contemporary relationships in all their diversity, and an intimate exploration of the fragility of love and identity. ' (Publication summary)

'England, 1171. Thomas Becket is dead, beheaded at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral. As news of his assassination spreads across the country and into Europe, Henry's reputation as a just and mighty king begins to disintegrate.

'Eleanor, no longer loyal, nor in awe of her husband, instigates the revolt she has craved for years—with Henry's three eldest sons as her allies against their father. Yearning to dethrone him and to gain power and liberty for herself, she beings to stir trouble at court.

'But when Henry discovers the plot, will Eleanor be strong enough to withstand his outrage? The punishment for treason is death. And what of the empire they have built together—can it survive when the royal family are at each other's throats?

'The fourth book in the illustrious Birth of the Plantagenets series delves into the feud between the spouses Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, painting the portrait of an empire steeped in conflict, treachery, and wild gambling for power.'  (Publication summary)

'After the death of her father, Lonely Planet writer Virginia Jealous travels across the world to document the life of his obsession - the scandalous 20th century poet Laurence Hope - in a unique blend of memoir and travelogue.

'John Jealous was sixty, and poet Laurence Hope had already been dead for eighty years when he became incomprehensibly obsessed with her.

'After his death, his daughter Virginia finds herself drawn into the extraordinary life and work of Laurence Hope - aka Violet Nicolson - who killed herself in Madras in 1904. Laurence Hope's poetry, with its sexually adventurous themes, thrilled and scandalised the Empire in India and beyond. In the first years of the twentieth century she was the most famous poet in the world; by World War II she was forgotten.

'Following in the footsteps of her father, Virginia travels across Australia, India, England, Spain and China, tracking Laurence Hope's life, and finding answers to, and further mysteries in, her father's unfinished business.

'A unique blend of poetry, memoir and travelogue, Rapture's Roadway untangles truth and lies and, where that's not possible, celebrates the enigma of not knowing.' (Publication summary)

'When the sex in Vivien Quarry’s thirty-two-year marriage dwindles to nothing, her husband Geoff finally gives her a reason: ‘Men are hardwired to not find older women attractive’.

'This unforgivable statement, uttered by a man long past his Adonis years, prompts Vivien to take drastic action. At sixty-seven, she most definitely doesn’t feel ‘past it’, and so enlists the services of the enigmatic Martin Glover from The Discretion Agency. 

'Under the sardonic eye of her oldest friend Jules, a world-famous operatic soprano facing the closing years of a brilliant career, Viv embarks on a series of wildly unpredictable, and sometimes hilariously cringeworthy dates – with wholly unexpected consequences.

'Told with great humour and heart, the accomplished Virginia Duigan delivers a provocative and profoundly relatable story that proves living is not reserved for the young.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'What was it exactly? Wonder, rapture delight, surprised recognition, laughter - but also darker feelings that made my heart beat fast and my stomach turn over, and sometimes a frantic urge to close the book before whatever it was sucked me in and destroyed me. But always, I read on. In Storytime, author and literary critic Jane Sullivan takes us from Wonderland to Narnia, Moomintroll to Mr Toad and from Winnie the Pooh to the Magic Pudding, to find out why her favourite childhood books were so vitally important, and how they shaped the woman she is today. This intimate, intense and emotional adventure down memory lane is much, much more than nostalgia. It is a surprising and sometimes disturbing voyage of self-discovery. As Jane relives old joys and faces old fears, she discovers that the books were not what she thought they were, and she was not the child she thought she was.'  (Publication summary)

'‘The sun was so brutal, so twisted in its brutality, it seemed to grip us by the neck and push us down into the drowning waters. And, in the end, that was our choice: by water – or by sun.’

'The year is 2221 and the world is dying. Temperatures soar as high as fifty degrees every day. Sea levels are rising year by year. The population has fallen to below 2 billion people. The ruined cities of the north – Sydney, Brisbane and beyond – were abandoned as the rising sea and the sun’s intensity turned them to wastelands.

'In an isolated coastal town south of Sydney, young Finch Taylor is captivated by the mysterious beauty April Speare and her pianist husband William when they move into a nearby beach house with a piano and a tragic secret. Finch soon begins a lifelong love affair with music, and with April. But as he and April follow the great migration south to Tasmania, and eventually to a warming Antarctica, they must decide whether to bring children into a world without a future.

'Hauntingly beautiful, The Warming depicts a nomadic existence, where love and hope are the only means of enduring a world that has turned against humanity.' (Publication summary)

'On beautiful Fraser Island in 1882, the population of the Badtjala people is in sharp decline following a run of brutal massacres. When German man Louis Müller offers to sail eighteen-year-old Bonny to Europe, along with twenty-two year old Jurano and his fifteen-year-old niece, Donordera, the proud and headstrong Bonny agrees.

'Accompanied by Müller’s bright and grieving daughter, Hilda, the group begins their journey to perform in Hamburg, Berlin, Paris and eventually London in the hope of seeking help from the Queen of England.

'While crowds in Europe are enthusiastic to see the unique dances, singing, fights, and pole climbing from the oldest culture in the world, the attention is relentless, and the fascination of scientists intrusive. Bonny is not a passive victim, and starts to earn money from mocking the crowd, but when disaster strikes, he must find a way to return home.

'A story of love, bravery, culture and the fight against injustice, Paris Savages brings a little-known part of history to blazing life, from one of Australia’s most intriguing novelists.' (Publication summary)

'In this compelling anthology of personal essays, curated by award-winning author Lee Kofman, some of Australia’s most beloved writers reveal, for the first time, powerful, occasionally funny and often heartbreaking stories of significant endings and their aftermath.

'Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project, shares how he discarded his past – perhaps autistic – self, while comedian Sami Shah writes about his public split from Islam, the religion of his birth. Ramona Koval delves into the bittersweet end to her career at the ABC and Fiona Wright explores how her anorexia has affected her romantic relationships. Whereas Kate Holden suggests that for some, splitting – whether from memorabilia, books or lovers – is unimaginable.

'Join eighteen acclaimed storytellers in their candid and courageous reflections on the intrinsic human experience of loss and leaving, that acknowledge the price we can often pay for a much-needed end, or new beginning.' (Publication summary)

'The third book in the compelling Birth of the Plantagenets series follows the battle for dominance between Church and Crown. England's Archbishop of Canterbury is dying and with him the power of the Church. Seizing his chance, King Henry II sets out to enforce the rule of law that he has painstakingly established to bring violent, corrupt and criminal clergy before his courts. The ever-scheming courtier, Thomas Becket, uses his mastery of deceit, sycophancy and wit to undermine the monarch and the Plantagenet dynasty. Should Becket be elected as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, to the fury of Queen Eleanor and Empress Matilda, he will be one step closer to being applauded as England's strongman. A story of ambition, jealousy, rebellion and downfall, The Lions' Torment follows Henry, Eleanor and Becket in an era of political flux, betrayal, and vengeance that leads to one of the most scandalous and tragic murders in history.' (Publication summary)

'Geoffrey the Handsome is the virile and charming Duke of Normandy, who seduces Queen Eleanor of France to spy for him. Said to be the most beautiful woman in Europe, and very rich, Eleanor has not been able to give birth to an heir for France. Her liaison with Geoffrey could remedy that – or lead to her downfall and Geoffrey’s death. But what begins with cool calculation becomes a passionate affair. Despite his love for Eleanor, Geoffrey has larger plans: to help his warrior son, Henry, seize the English throne from the uncle who usurped it from its rightful heir, Henry’s mother. When Henry is forced to intervene to save the lives of his father and Eleanor, he falls foul of the French queen – and madly in love with her Byzantine maid. Should he become King of England, however, this dazzling foreign girl will never be acceptable as his queen.

These two relationships – both forbidden, both perilous – are at the centre of a tale of consuming ambition, family vengeance and political intrigue set in the glorious flowering of troubadour culture, mysticism and learning that is 12th-century France.' (Source: Boomerang Books website)

'It is 1154 and Henry Plantagenet avenges his family honour by taking back the English throne from Stephen the Usurper. The kingdom he inherits is impoverished, lawless and broken by years of civil war. By his side is the beautiful, wealthy and indomitable Eleanor of Aquitaine. Combining forces, this golden couple use their charisma and shrewd diplomacy to crush rebellious barons and restore England's prestige and glory.

'However, an equally ambitious financial magician is needed to restore the royal treasury. Opportunistic Thomas Becket answers the call, using his appointment of Chancellor to fill not only the King's coffers but also his own. In a dance of ambition, vengeance and forbidden passions, Henry, his Queen and the Chancellor fight for political power and control against forces seen and imagined, each with their own agenda, each determined to hide their own shameful secrets.' (Publication summary)

'When Sara Rose returns to live in her recently deceased grandmother’s Tasmanian cottage, her past and that of her mother and grandmother is ever-present. Sara’s grandmother, Nina Barsova, a Russian post-war immigrant, lovingly raised Sara in the cottage at the foot of Mt Wellington but without ever explaining why Sara’s own mother, Helena, abandoned her as a baby.

'Sara, a geneticist, also longs to know the identity of her father, and Helena won’t tell her. Now, estranged not only from her mother, but also from her husband, Sara raises her daughter, Ellie, with a central wish to spare her the same feeling of abandonment that she experienced as a child.

'When Sara meets an Afghani refugee separated from his beloved wife and family, she decides to try to repair relations with Helena – but when a lie told by her grandmother years before begins to unravel, a darker truth than she could ever imagine is revealed.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A remarkable family memoir by New Zealand-born, Sydney-based author Paul Ashford Harris, the son of a baronet and the grandson of infamous occultist Lady Frieda Harris. Odd Boy Out is the story of one eccentric family that spans continents, generations and social class.

'When Paul Ashford Harris receives a phone call to say his childhood home has burned to the ground, he begins a fascinating journey to reclaim the history of his eccentric family and its relationship to New Zealand from the beginning of colonisation.

'We meet his highly respectable Victorian grandfather, Sir Percy Harris, an eminent member of the House of Commons. His grandmother, the highly bohemian Lady Frieda Harris, an artist, suffragette, friend of Emily Pankhurst, and the infamous occultist Aleister Crowley, for whom she painted the famous Thoth Tarot cards.

'Then there’s his eternally distant parents, whose idea of parenthood was giving birth as swiftly as possible, immediately appointing a nanny and arranging a couple of satisfactory boarding schools.

'Taking you on a remarkable journey from the politics of London’s East End, to the early years of the Australian gold rush and rise and fall of the family business Bing Harris, Odd Boy Out is at its core a poignant memoir that examines the legacy you are given – whether good or bad – and how it shapes you into the person you are today.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.