Australia's first "true" fictional work of mild greatness - okay that's filled with qualifiers but the point is valid. Written in the 1840s, a time when old people could still remember the colonisation of Australia, the work was not published for several more decades, and Tucker's authorship is disputed. This is a fascinating tale, a melodrama, engaging with issues of class, convicts, and the strange, often bracing and sometimes despairing relationship that white settlers of the first two generations had with the Australian landscape. In a way it speaks to us differently now, because we're also fascinated in the mindset of the people from this time. Well worth reading if you're interested in Australia's history. Be aware that it is most certainly a melodrama, though! The characters are vigorous but not necessarily deep. Coincidences abound. ( )