The Postmistress

Written by Alison Stuart

Narrated by Jennifer Vuletic

A stunning historical tale of loss, desire and courage that is full of the terror and the beauty of the Australian bush, for readers of The Thorn Birds, The Naturalist's Daughter and The Widow of Ballarat.

To forge a new life she must first deal with her past...

1871. Adelaide Greaves and her young son have found sanctuary in the Australian town of Maiden's Creek, where she works as a postmistress. The rough Victorian goldmining settlement is a hard place for a woman - especially as the other women in town don't know what to make of her - but through force of will and sheer necessity, Adelaide carves out a role.

But her past is coming to find her, and the embittered and scarred Confederate soldier Caleb Hunt, in town in search of gold and not without a dark past of his own, might be the only one who can help. Can Adelaide trust him? Can she trust anyone?

When death and danger threaten - some from her past, some born of the Australian bush - she must swallow her pride and turn to Caleb to join her in the fight, a fight she is determined to win...

PRAISE

'Meticulously researched and brilliantly realised, Alison Stuart's novel of vengeance, love and the power of a determined woman is hugely enjoyable.' Tea Cooper, author of The Woman in the Green Dress

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Feb 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781460787809

Alison Stuart

Australian author Alison Stuart began her writing journey halfway up a tree in the school playground with a notebook and a dream. Her father's passion for history and her husband's love of adventure and the Australian bush led to a desire to tell stories of Australia's past.  She has travelled extensively and lived in Africa and Singapore. Before turning to writing full time, she enjoyed a long and varied career as a lawyer, both in private practice and in a range of different organisations, including the military and the emergency services.  Alison lives in a historic town in Victoria. You can connect with Alison on: Website  Facebook Instagram Twitter

Reviews for The Postmistress

[heatherlinc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"The Postmistress" is written by Aussie author, Alison Stuart, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Set in the 1870s, the story follows Adelaide Grieves who, after the death of the man she loves, flees England with her maid and friend, Nettie and, young son, Danny, to become Postmistress of Maiden Creek, a Victorian gold-mining town.I was drawn to the storyline from the start and Adelaide was an intelligent, strong, forward-thinking female lead. I admired her for the way she made a home for her son despite adversity and daily hardships. She was supported by a wonderful cast of secondary characters who were all unique and brought the novel alive, including Caleb, the novel's hero, and various colourful town characters.Mine accidents, fires, economic challenges, kidnapping, snakes, poisonous spiders and other challenges made "The Postmistress" a novel I didn't want to put down. It was also well-researched but the author didn't bombard the reader with unnecessary detail. Instead, she gave the story a strong sense of time and place.This was my first novel by Ms Stuart but it definitely won't be my last. With romance, secrets, danger, action and drama, "The Postmistress" was an entertaining historical read.

[karenleefield · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Postmistress is an Australian book, written by an Australian author, and most enjoyable. It begins in England where a daughter of a well-to-do father finds herself pregnant and decides to “run away” to Australia to bring up her child.The story shows the difficulties of living in a young country—the hardships, poverty, lack of facilities and covers themes such as mining, bushfires, pandemics and dangerous Australian wildlife. But it also shows how people with secrets can start again and build a new life for themselves in a country just starting out. I especially liked how the small town, while diverse, came together to battle outside threats because the enemy without can be more threatening than the enemy within.But secrets have a habit of coming out in the open. What happens then? We need to adapt and adjust, and sometimes we must face those secrets head on, and that is (of course) what the main character must do.In my opinion, this is a historical romance. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. They fit together well. Yes, parts were predicable, but I didn’t mind that at all. It was lovely to read about life in the early years of Australia. I enjoyed the book and would read more by this author.Recommended.