Im Jahr 1898 verläßt Bodie Court seine irische Heimat, weil sie ihm kein Auskommen mehr bietet. Er geht nach Australien und begegnet dort gleich nach der Ankunft der Liebe seines Lebens: den geheimnisvoll leuchtenden australischen Opalen. Sofort faßt er den Entschluß, auf Opalsuche zu gehen. Er hat Erfolg und wird zum wohlhabenden Mann. Ein schrecklicher Unglücksfall und die Begegnung mit einer außergewöhnlichen Frau verändern sein Leben von Grund auf.
I'm such a sucker for these 'mindless' beach reads where you can so turn off your brain you sometimes wonder whether you're reading on auto-pilot... and yet, I cannot get myself to rate them very highly even though they divert my attention so nicely and make no intellectual demands of me whatsoever. So very relaxing when it is summer. :)
'The Opal Seekers' got everything a good historical novel of this ilk should have: passionate (albeit utterly ridiculous) love and romance, tragedy and deaths, mystery, a mean and selfish daughter-in-law, kind-hearted but stubborn Irish immigrants, vagabonds and liars, hardy farmers and crazed seekers, rough countryside and romanticised 19th century towns in outback Australia, and for good measure, a few Aboriginal people thrown in. Mix it all together and you can easily find yourself engrossed in a story that you will have forgotten in a book or two.
So sad that I've just read the last of this author's books...15,16, I'm not sure.I have thoroughly enjoyed every book. I have family in Queensland,Bribie Island,I have been lucky enough to have made that long flight about 7 times,I love Queensland,shame its so far away,The wildlife and nature are well worth the journey,shame about the snakes though.More to the point,are there going to be any more books?Thank you Patricia for such great reads,it was nice to connect with names and places ,that I have been to.Thank you. Chris .x
This book is so well written that you are actually living the story. I, feel as though I was mining the opals, and you can see the good people should succeed and the rich ones get their come uppence. I have read a few of Patricia Shaws' books and everyone is good and refreshing and I hopefully can read as many as possible.
This time we learn a lot about opals, which have always been a wonder for me. Once again a story with so many facets like a well cut diamond or the many colours in a boulder opal. Now for the next of Patricia' s books
Engrossed in this novel from page 1. I would have given it a 5 stars but I felt the last few chapters were hastily written. It covered a thirty year period in about thirty pages.