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1996 Fate Knows
no Tears, pp. 277.
ISBN 0 9586466 0 0
"Research into the life of the controversial Victorian poet,
'Laurence Hope' - Violet Nicolson, 1865-1904 - twice took me to
India, as well as to the India Office and Oriental Collections
of the British Library, London, and to numerous other British
and American institutions. The result was what Susan Kurosawa
(in The Australian of 16 August, 1997) referred to as "a
towering tale" . My research for Fate Knows no Tears also
brought me into close contact with the exotic, the eccentric and
the extreme - and made for a fascinating study of an extraordinary
human being against the background of the British Raj."
more on Fate Knows no Tears
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1998 The Foundling: a tale of the Burra Burra Mine,
pp. 344 ISBN 0 9586466 2 7
The story of an immigrant English Westcountry family in South
Australia in the early 1840s, and their struggle to survive in
frightful conditions, unfolds against an authentic historical
background. The subject area of THE FOUNDLING is, of course, vastly
different to that of Fate Knows no Tears - dealing as it does
with the little people of the underprivileged classes - but I
have applied the same exceedingly thorough standards of research
to my novels about the early pioneers of Australia as I have to
my works of non fiction.
THE FOUNDLING tells the story of the orphaned Julia Stephen from
Cornwall, who is drawn into the grip of the Monster Mine at Burra.
Julia becomes part of the workforce in the company township of
Kooringa, although her bid for survival develops on more unusual
lines than most. THE FOUNDLING depicts many strata of South Australian
society, the strike of 1848, and life at subsistence level in
the noisome Burra Creek. It not only deals with one of the most
fascinating eras of European settlement in Australia, but has
all the classical ingredients of a thriller.
WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT THE FOUNDLING
- Melbourne Herald Sun: 'Cross's historical research is excellent,
with real characters and events from a turbulent period intertwined
with fiction and legend.'
- Frank McMahon:'...finely drawn and vigorous characters that
leap off the page and (among other examples of great writing)
contribute to (the) story which makes the whole book a gripping
read.'
- Maggy Ragless:' The Foundling's life grows parallel with
that of the new Colony and ... with the Burra. It is great to
see someone presenting history in another way to reach and inspire
people. '
- The Advertiser: '(T)his is the epic story of Julia Stephen
abandoned at birth in England's Westcountry, who eventually
finds a chance of fulfilment in the shadow of the Monster Mine.'
- Australian Mining History Association: '(L)ife is seen through
the eyes of Julia Stephen whose resourcefulness and spirit triumph
over many hardships.'
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