Review: The Goldminer’s Sister

Title: The Goldminer’s Sister

Author: Alison Stuart

Publisher: 8th July 2020 by HarperCollins (Australia)

Pages: 378 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, suspense

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Gold is a fever. Will it lead her to love ... or death? A suspenseful romance set on the turbulent goldfields of 1870s Australia, for readers of The Postmistress and The Woman in the Green Dress.

'There are people in this town with the gleam of gold in their eyes and cold steel in their hearts.'

1873. Eliza Penrose arrives in the gold mining town of Maiden's Creek in search of her brother, planning to make a new life for herself. Instead she finds a tragic mystery - and hints of betrayals by those closest to her.

Mining engineer Alec McLeod left Scotland to escape the memory of his dead wife and child. Despite the best efforts of the eligible ladies of Maiden's Creek, Alec is determined never to give his heart again.

As lies and deceit threaten Eliza's life, Alec steps in - although he has problems of his own, as he risks his livelihood and those he holds dear to oppose the dangerous work practices at the Maiden's Creek Mine.

When disaster draws the pieces of the puzzle together, Eliza and Alec must save each other - but is it too late?

My Thoughts

‘One thing I’ve learned after my years out here is that gold is a fever, just like they say. It can change a man.’ 

The Goldminer’s Sister is a rich historical drama from 1873 set in a fictional gold mining town in the state of Victoria, Australia. The lead character of Eliza Penrose is a fabulously strong and determined woman for her time who pushes on, despite of and against the odds surrounding agitation from the local community and other surprising sources. 

This story is engaging on so many levels as both people and location jump off the page and all you want to do is read to the very end. Eliza is a fabulous leading lady for this tale, strong and courageous despite the tragedies that have befallen her. Her determination to pursue the truth is what endears her to the reader and you want her to not only survive but also succeed. The male lead of Alec elicits similar feelings of strength and survival and with a range of secondary characters, likewise realistically portrayed from rich and poor to villain and hero. It makes for riveting reading.  

Much research was done with regards to the harsh realities of the time in terms of living conditions, class and gender. The fictional town of Maiden’s Creek is based on a small town in the south east of my state Victoria, Walhalla, and the mining operations that took place there last century. Both the living and working conditions in these mining towns would have been extremely tough and add into the mix dangerous characters and scenarios and it makes for quality reading. This, of course, comes from Alison’s quality writing not only in plot and the rich descriptions of location, but also her factual knowledge with regards to the logistics of mining for that time. However,  this is a multidimensional tale and with strong themes of women's rights, working rights, educational rights... even childbirth drama - there is much to appreciate throughout this book. 

I was totally engaged and loved reading The Goldminer’s Sister for all of the reasons discussed. With strong themes of love and loss, greed and kindness, mystery and suspense, I am so happy to have discovered Alison’s writing and can’t wait to see what historical adventures she will take her readers on next. 

‘You’re an idealist, Eliza,’ Cowper said. ‘You can't save every underprivileged child in the world.’ ‘But she has so much potential,’ Eliza said.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.