Lady Bridget in the Never-Never Land

by Rosa Praed

This book has been deemed as a classic and has stood the test of time. The book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations.

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1915

About the author

See Mrs. Campbell Praed

Reviews

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the early 1900s, this is a love story between a Lady from England and a battling stockowner in remote Queensland in the mid 1800s. Lady Bridget is a feisty independent type with "modern ideas". She marries McKeith who is her image of a real man, plus she is in need of some financial security.
McKeith's parents and siblings were killed by Aborigines so he feels no qualms in revenge murders and mistreatment of the local traditional inhabitants. Bridget is against his actions but still marries him and lives in his remote property for 18 months before things come to a head. This is the highlight of the book as two strong willed people stressed after a long drought, remoteness and petty jealousy find their differences cannot be solved.
This is a book of its time with views no longer acceptable. The coloniser's rights to land, use of its superiority of weaponry, lack of women rights and abhorrent statements about Aborigines all make this a bit hard to read.

[Bridget O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a book written in the early 1900s, it’s a fairly modern story that I highly enjoyed. A love story of a man and a woman who come from utterly different worlds (the Bush in Australia and an aristocrat from Ireland) that also addresses topics of female independence, divorce, slavery, and union work force. Some of the norms of society at that time and Australian lingo were lost on me but I particularly loved all the descriptions of the gardens and plants.

[Melissa Lucas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rather than being set in the Northern Territory as the title suggests, this apologia for European invasion and dispossession is set in northern Queensland. The protagonist us based on the white survivor of the Cullin la Ringo massacre. His murderous response and mass slaughter of Aboriginal people issomething Praed ultimately overlooks in this interesting but ultimately pro-genocidal book.