A little boy, the son of a convict woman is taken deep into the Australian bush in an attempt to escape servitude. Frightened and alone, the boy is adopted by an indigenous man and educated by a settler family on whose holdings the tribe live. Bronzewing, as he comes to be known, stands with an understanding of two worlds, and can clearly see the impossibility of cohesion between them. He tries “to protect his adopted people and their vanishing civilization”, attempting to broker understanding.

Kate is aged 20 when her mother dies and the reverend offers Kate the position newly vacated. Kate despises the reverend and all he stands for and resolves to make her own way in the world. She rejects his offer and is surprised when he finds her a position as a companion. The surprise is quickly replaced by horror when she understands he has arranged to send her far beyond the established colony, into “territory beyond government jurisdiction - and the reach of the law”. He’s hoping she will change her mind and accept his offer, she’s determined to escape him.

From the streets of colonial Sydney, Kate joins the settlers who are pushing their way into lands occupied by natives retaliating against the steady advance of the white people. Kate soon learns that although a new world is being created, the old ways are being transferred. Instead of co-existence there is intolerance, and rules from a foreign land are being applied in an alien environment where they make no sense.

An epic of outlaws, adventurers, chauvinism and helplessness, this novel is set on the very fringes of civilization. Colonial Australia, a terrifying place of lawlessness and opportunity, a landscape of possibility misread by those afraid of change. Bravery, loyalty and love come in many forms and guises. Australia has room enough for them all.

Wild Lands

Nicole Alexander

Random House Books Australia