Set in rural Australia in theearly 1900s, this is first acoming-of-age story about awell-bred young woman,Emily, exploring the riskyworld of adult relationships.Her main source of ‘proper’information is Mary WoodAllen’s What a Young Woman Ought to Know.

A quote from this excellent publicationintroduces every chapter, illuminating theperplexing tension between Emily’s upbringingand all she is learning from Bertha herfamily’s new home help. But it is also a bookabout writing. Emily, inspired by her love ofWuthering Heights, has set out to write aromantic novel of her own, but the passionsand dramas of life in a small countrycommunity eclipse her wildest imagination.

Based round the true story of the murder of ayoung woman in Towitt, South Australia in1901, this wonderful novel is also a grippingmystery. I really loved it; it is so rich in ideas,in sense of place, and in psychologicalexploration. Recommended to anyone over13, young readers and adults alike.