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Overview
Australia, 1871—Following her mother’s sudden death, Joanna Drury sets sail from India and arrives in Melbourne to claim the property left to her by her mother—and to trace the mysteries of her family’s past.
From her first steps on shore, Joanna becomes entangled with a lost boy who leads her to the fascinating Hugh Westbrook. She agrees to look after the child in exchange for Hugh’s help in finding her inheritance. But she falls deeply in love with Hugh and with life at his sheep station, Merinda.
When strange nightmares begin to plague her—the same that tormented her mother—Joanna starts to notice the Aborigines’ strange reaction to her. Delving into Australia’s past, she discovers the tragic events that have marked her family’s destiny and her own life, events that happened long ago in the time the Aborigines call “the Dreaming.”
Full of intriguing historical detail, Wood’s compelling story brings the clash of immigrant and Aboriginal cultures to stunning life, capturing the danger, mystery, and romance of an emerging country.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781596528604 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | TURNER PUB CO |
| Publication date: | 05/01/2012 |
| Pages: | 422 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
The Dreaming
By Barbara Wood
Turner
Copyright © 2012 Barbara WoodAll right reserved.
ISBN: 9781596528604
Joanna was dreaming.
She saw herself leaning on the arm of a handsome young officer, grateful for his support but otherwise immune to his solicitous attentions. She was oblivious also to the British soldiers, standing erect in their smart uniforms, and to the ladies, elegant in their gowns and bonnets. Officers on horseback raised their sabers in salute as the two coffins were lowered into the graves. Joanna was aware of only one thing: that she had lost the only two people she loved, and that, at eighteen, she was suddenly alone in the world.
The soldiers lifted their rifles and fired into the air. Joanna looked up, startled, as the clear blue sky tore apart. Through her black veil she saw the sun, which seemed too large and too hot and too close to the earth.
As the commander of the regiment began to read the eulogy over the graves of Sir Petronius and Lady Emily Drury, Joanna gave him a puzzled look. Why wasn’t he speaking clearly? She couldn’t understand what he was saying. She looked around at the people gathered to pay their final respects to her parents, and noticed that they ranged from servants to the highest army officials and royal elite of India. None of them seemed to find the commander’s speech muddled or out of the ordinary.
Joanna sensed that something was terribly wrong, and she was suddenly afraid.
Then she froze: At the edge of the crowd was a dog—the dog that had killed her mother.
Continues...
Excerpted from The Dreaming by Barbara Wood Copyright © 2012 by Barbara Wood. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
What People are Saying About This
"A great summer book. It has everything—good characters, love, adventure, mystery and mysticism." —Los Angeles Daily News
“Superb storytelling . . . a page turner.” —San Francisco Chronicle
"Magnificent . . . everything a historical novel should be: big, bold, with larger-than-life characters chasing their dreams, and demons with equal fervor. The Dreaming has all that and more." —Orange Coast Magazine
"A master storyteller. She never fails to leave the reader enthralled." —Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, author of A Woman of Independent Means
“An accomplished storyteller.” —John Jakes, New York Times bestselling author
“Wood shows herself a wizard at juggling action and romance, maintaining the momentum and sparkle of both.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Wood makes her fiction come alive with authentic detailing and highly memorable characters.” —Booklist
“Barbara Wood is an entertainer.” —Washington Post Book World
“Wood crafts vivid sketches of women who triumph over destiny.” —Publishers Weekly
“Entertainment fiction at its best.” —Booklist
“Wood creates genuine, engaging characters whose stories are fascinating.” —Library Journal