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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'It is 1914 and Lithgow is booming. Daniel is a young German-Australian, a coalminer and a socialist; Francine is a bourgeois Irish Catholic princess, the too-good-for-this-place daughter of one of the mine's owners. When their paths collide, they fall in love despite themselves. But before their signatures on the marriage certificate are dry, World War I erupts, throwing in their path a new and much more terrifying obstacle. Against his principles but driven by a sense of solidarity, Daniel enlists; Francine, horrified, has no choice but to support him. As they hurtle towards a daunting world of war, separation and grief, the novel explores ideals of heroism and femininity, the thin line between courage and stupidity, and the resilience of individuals in a rapidly changing, uncertain world.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Dedication: For my darlingest.
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Epigraph: [Australian history] does not read like history, but like the most beautiful lies...but they are all true, they all happened. - Mark Twain, Following the Equator, 1897
Epigraph: Australian sons let us rejoice / For we are young and free. - 'Advance Australia Fair', 1879.
Epigraph: Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra / Gay your life must be. - Marion Sinclair, 1934.
Epigraph: Don't go to hell in order to give piratical, plutocratic parasites a bigger slice of Heaven. - Direct Action, Sydney, 1915
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Dyslexic edition.
- Braille.
- Large print.
Works about this Work
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In Short : Fiction
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 9-10 June 2007; (p. 38)
— Review of Black Diamonds 2007 single work novel -
Cracks of Credibility In a Uniform Style
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Tha Canberra Times , 19 May 2007; (p. 19)
— Review of Black Diamonds 2007 single work novel -
Books Fiction
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 12 - 13 May 2007; (p. 22)
— Review of Black Diamonds 2007 single work novel
-
Books Fiction
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 12 - 13 May 2007; (p. 22)
— Review of Black Diamonds 2007 single work novel -
Cracks of Credibility In a Uniform Style
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Tha Canberra Times , 19 May 2007; (p. 19)
— Review of Black Diamonds 2007 single work novel -
In Short : Fiction
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 9-10 June 2007; (p. 38)
— Review of Black Diamonds 2007 single work novel
Last amended 10 Nov 2021 14:12:52
Settings:
- Lithgow, Lithgow area, Central West NSW, New South Wales,
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