The Postmistress by Alison Stuart

Format: Audiobook

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blurb

Ballarat.

To forge a new life she must first deal with her past…

  1. Adelaide Greaves and her young son have found sanctuary in the Australian town of Maiden’s Creek, where she works as a postmistress.

But her past is coming to find her, and the embittered and scarred Confederate soldier Caleb Hunt might be the only one who can help.

My review

The Postmistress is an Australian book, written by an Australian author, and most enjoyable.

It begins in England where a daughter of a well-to-do father finds herself pregnant and decides to run away to Australia to bring up her child.

The story shows the difficulties of living in a young country: the hardships, poverty, lack of facilities, and themes such as mining, bushfires, pandemics and dangerous Australian wildlife.

But it also shows how people with secrets can start again and build a new life for themselves in a country just starting out.

I especially liked how the small town, while diverse, came together to battle outside threats because the enemy without can be more threatening than the enemy within.

But secrets have a habit of coming out into the open.

What happens then?

We need to adapt and adjust, and sometimes we must face those secrets head on.

In my opinion, this is a historical romance.

I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. They fit together well.

Yes, parts were predictable, but I didn’t mind that at all.

It was lovely to read about life in the early years of Australia.

I enjoyed the book and would read more by this author.

Recommended.