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The runaway girl
Book by Walker, Lucy
- GenresRomance
221 pages, Hardcover
First published September 12, 1975
24 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Lucy Walker
103 books26 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Lucy Walker (1907–1987) was the most famous of a few pseudonyms used by Dorothy Lucie Sanders (née McClemans). She was born in Boulder, Western Australia, on 4 May 1907. Her father was of Irish stock, a minister of the Church of England. Her mother was from New Zealand. Dorothy began writing at an early age, despite her father’s scepticism about her ability.
A qualified teacher from Perth College (1928), she taught in state schools in Western Australia until 1936. She continued teaching later in London while her husband, a fellow school teacher whom she married in 1936, completed his doctorate in education.
They returned to Perth, Australia in 1938 but Dorothy Lucie Sanders only began her writing in 1945, producing articles, short stories, and later novels. In 1948 her first novel, Fairies on the Doorstep, was published.
As Lucy Walker, she wrote about 39 romance books:
Fairies On the Doorstep (1948)
Who Leaves the Crowd (1952)
The One Who Kisses (1954)
Sweet and Faraway (1955)
Come Home Dear (1956)
Heaven is Here (1957)
Master of Ransome (1958)
Kingdom of the heart (1959)
The Stranger from the North (1959)
Love in a Cloud (1960)
The Loving Heart (1960)
The Moonshiner (1961)
Wife to Order (1961)
The Distant Hills (1962)
Down in the Forest (1962)
The Call of the Pines (1963)
Follow Your Star (1963)
The Man from Outback (1964)
Reaching for the Stars (1964)
A Man Called Masters (1965)
The Other Girl (1965)
The Ranger in the Hills (1966)
The River Is Down (1967)
Home at Sundown (1968)
The Gone-Away Man (1969)
Shining River (1969)
Six for Heaven (1969)
Joyday for Jodi (1971)
The Bell Branch (1971)
The Mountain That Went to the Sea (1971)
Ribbons In Her Hair (1972)
Pepper Tree Bay (1972)
Pool of Dreams (1973)
Girl Alone (1973)
Monday in Summer (1973)
Runaway Girl (1975)
Gamma's Girl (1977)
So Much Love (1977)
These romance novels were very successful in Australia and overseas. The stories were meticulously researched; the writer travelled extensively in the Western Australian outback, recording details of scenery, personalities and social customs in her notebooks and diaries.
Other pseudonyms used by this author: Shelley Dean, Dorothy Lucie Sanders, and Lucy Walker.
Dorothy Lucie Sanders was widowed in 1986 and died the following year. Her daughter and two sons survived her.
Lucy Walker (1907–1987) was the most famous of a few pseudonyms used by Dorothy Lucie Sanders (née McClemans). She was born in Boulder, Western Australia, on 4 May 1907. Her father was of Irish stock, a minister of the Church of England. Her mother was from New Zealand. Dorothy began writing at an early age, despite her father’s scepticism about her ability.
A qualified teacher from Perth College (1928), she taught in state schools in Western Australia until 1936. She continued teaching later in London while her husband, a fellow school teacher whom she married in 1936, completed his doctorate in education.
They returned to Perth, Australia in 1938 but Dorothy Lucie Sanders only began her writing in 1945, producing articles, short stories, and later novels. In 1948 her first novel, Fairies on the Doorstep, was published.
As Lucy Walker, she wrote about 39 romance books:
Fairies On the Doorstep (1948)
Who Leaves the Crowd (1952)
The One Who Kisses (1954)
Sweet and Faraway (1955)
Come Home Dear (1956)
Heaven is Here (1957)
Master of Ransome (1958)
Kingdom of the heart (1959)
The Stranger from the North (1959)
Love in a Cloud (1960)
The Loving Heart (1960)
The Moonshiner (1961)
Wife to Order (1961)
The Distant Hills (1962)
Down in the Forest (1962)
The Call of the Pines (1963)
Follow Your Star (1963)
The Man from Outback (1964)
Reaching for the Stars (1964)
A Man Called Masters (1965)
The Other Girl (1965)
The Ranger in the Hills (1966)
The River Is Down (1967)
Home at Sundown (1968)
The Gone-Away Man (1969)
Shining River (1969)
Six for Heaven (1969)
Joyday for Jodi (1971)
The Bell Branch (1971)
The Mountain That Went to the Sea (1971)
Ribbons In Her Hair (1972)
Pepper Tree Bay (1972)
Pool of Dreams (1973)
Girl Alone (1973)
Monday in Summer (1973)
Runaway Girl (1975)
Gamma's Girl (1977)
So Much Love (1977)
These romance novels were very successful in Australia and overseas. The stories were meticulously researched; the writer travelled extensively in the Western Australian outback, recording details of scenery, personalities and social customs in her notebooks and diaries.
Other pseudonyms used by this author: Shelley Dean, Dorothy Lucie Sanders, and Lucy Walker.
Dorothy Lucie Sanders was widowed in 1986 and died the following year. Her daughter and two sons survived her.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 12, 2022
Not written well at all
18 year old Jenny takes a job as cook on a safari in order to get away from her family for awhile. Clumsily wriiten we drive through the old goldmine way of southeast Australia looking supposedly for opals and other semi-precious stones led by Drew Carey and assisted by Geoff, Jenny's friend from home. We are led to believe that Jenny will pair up with one of these two men, probably Drew as he is described in the usual way that Lucy Walkers heroes are usually described: tall, quiet, authoritarian, smart but the writing was so annoying I could not enjoy this novel and skipped pages to the end.
18 year old Jenny takes a job as cook on a safari in order to get away from her family for awhile. Clumsily wriiten we drive through the old goldmine way of southeast Australia looking supposedly for opals and other semi-precious stones led by Drew Carey and assisted by Geoff, Jenny's friend from home. We are led to believe that Jenny will pair up with one of these two men, probably Drew as he is described in the usual way that Lucy Walkers heroes are usually described: tall, quiet, authoritarian, smart but the writing was so annoying I could not enjoy this novel and skipped pages to the end.
December 13, 2011
A very good book. It was interesting. I liked the storyline and the way it captured my attention.
December 11, 2016
Love Lucy walkers books, great writing and easy reading as always <3
August 8, 2025
Heroine was 18 and acted like a middle-schooler. I don't know which was worse - when she fell down the mine shaft and made a big deal about saving the lizard first. Or when she blundered into a cafe with four disreptuable men and had to be rescued by the hero. (Who was the OM for most of the story)
And that's what bothered me the most about this story. Heroine had her eye on one guy for most of the story and the hero took the beta role until the very end. Not a twist I enjoyed.
I also didn't enjoy the opal/gold/gemstone quests. Just not my cup of tea.
And that's what bothered me the most about this story. Heroine had her eye on one guy for most of the story and the hero took the beta role until the very end. Not a twist I enjoyed.
I also didn't enjoy the opal/gold/gemstone quests. Just not my cup of tea.
August 8, 2024
DNF. Agree with Flo. Not written well. Not Walker's best. The thoughts of the heroine were overdone with overdone reactions to the hero. It was too irritating to get past Ch 3. I don't think the "first meet" is Walker's strength. No one does those like the Great Betty
October 23, 2021
This is a love story with a twist but the basic background of the story involves the usual Lucy Walker theme of mineral rights espionage.
July 7, 2023
First read by this Author. I didn't realise she passed away many years ago. The story didn't seem dated at all and felt like it was even written in today's world.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews