Marg's Favourite HF set in Australia

When we decided that we were going to have this week where we shared the favourite fiction set in our own countries, it sounded like a really fab idea until it came time to actually choose the books. How  to decide which ones? In the end I decided to take a Books of a Lifetime approach and choose books that I recall from various times in my life and then some more recent reads.

Kings in Grass Castles by Mary Durack - In my early teens I fell in love with Historical Fiction in the form of Jean Plaidy's books about English royalty. Before that however, I do remember loving this tale of a pioneer family in the far north of Western Australia. I am not actually sure how well this book would hold up to a reread but at the time I certainly fell in love with the story

Harp in the South/Poor Man's Orange by Ruth Park - We had to study this trilogy in high school and I found myself swept up into the hard world of 1930s Sydney. Around the same time there was a mini-series as well which really helped bring the world to life

All the Rivers Run by Nancy Cato - A classic story of life in the late 1800s - a woman with indelible spirit, the handsome man who loved her, the drama of life in the country, paddle steamer races. What more could you want! I actually rewatched the mini series adaptation of this a couple of years ago and apart from the fact that if it was made now the colourisation of the film would be very different, it still was a very entertaining watch..

Aaron Fletcher's Walkabout series - This series of books is one that I found out about through fellow bloggers. It is a big, juicy saga following one family's story of starting a huge sheep station in the Outback, the loves, the tragedies, the fight against nature. It starts with a convict settler and again features strong women, the men who loved them. The strange this series is how hard it is to find out anything about Aaron Fletcher. I suspect he wasn't Australian, but the story doesn't seem to betray that fact. Thinking about it, I am not sure that I don't still have one more book in the series to read.

A Stranger in My Street by Deborah Burrows - This is one of my favourite historical fiction reads this year. It is set in my home town of Perth during World War II (one of my favourite eras to read about) and features lots of interesting historical facts, a good mystery and an understated romance. Can't wait to read more from this author!

There are so many other authors I could mention. Maybe if you have a favourite HF novel set in Australia you might like to mention it in the comments!