There is a lot of reading in this book, which conjures up from the first page a tangible picture of fashionable Melbourne, then back-of-beyond Hurtle’s Creek.  Expect one of the most complex and involved plots possible in a book of fairly modest length, some romance (fairly lukewarm but this is not primarily that sort of book) and some surprises.  Ms Lake manages to sidestep rather neatly some potential cliche situations which seem to be visible from a mile away (there isn’t even a remittance man in the story), and has a formidable grasp of 19th century Australian history.  I haven’t read anything like this for a long time, and found this to be the sort of book that rather defies categorization.  I hope that Robert Hale is going to publish more of this author’s works, as I was impressed by this for many good reasons.