Where Wild Black Swans Are Flying by Lynne Cairns

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor wear to book corners and edges.

The story of Becky Lees, who arrived as a baby within two years of settlement of the Swan River Colony.

She is the child of indentured servants, who are bound to work for seven years for their master. The first ships had arrived in June to face a West Australian winter. There was no infrastructure - no roads, houses, or reliable water supply. Food was scarce, and agricultural methods didn't fit the changed pattern of seasons. When even the gentry spent the first months living in tents and shanties, imagine the conditions endured by servants like Becky's parents.

Things had improved a bit by when Becky was seven, but her mother was still cooking on an open fire in a bush shed, with tragic results. When her father also dies in an ox wagon accident far from white settlements, Becky is rescued by indigenous Noongar people. She travels with them for some months, before being taken in by Meg Kenyon, a widow struggling to be self-sufficient on a remote farm, where they live on fish and the vegetables and fruit they grow.

The hardships they face and overcome, reflect realities overlooked in fiction about the colonial gentry. Romance enters her life, but fate has more trauma in store for Becky before she can find happiness. (Trove)