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The second in the classic trilogy The Fortunes of Richard Mahony by Henry Handel Richardson (pseudonym of Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson), The Way Home continues the story of Richardson’s parents and life in Ballarat and Melbourne in the second half of the 19th century. I read and wrote about Australia Felix last year. When we left Richard and Mary, they were to embark for England as...

This is the second in the Langton quartet by Martin Boyd; the first is reviewed here. At this point the beloved Alice has died and the story focuses on Guy's brother Dominic and his difficult young life. Guy, our narrator, often mentions the duque de Teba, an ancestor of his mother's, an alterboy-strangling Spanish priest. In describing his troublesome brother Dominic, he mentions that he...

The first of a quartet, this wonderful book was written in 1949. The author whose Australian family owned land in Britain as well as Australia, had lived in Britain since going there to serve in World War I. He remained there until he had written a very successful book and envisioned returning to revive the family home outside Melbourne and become the benefactor to his artistic nephews...