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MORE THAN HISTORICAL ROMANCE | Brian S, Jindalee | 12 April 2010 | The book’s ring of authenticity could only have come from someone who lived through those times. It is full of interesting asides: the entertainment on the Shrewsbury race day recalls a similar occasion of my own childhood, albeit 70 years on;  the cry of a curlew at night; the yarns around the campfire; the description of a storm; the shearers’ way of “knocking down a cheque” at the nearest pub; and the strange use of archaic “olde worlde” language between the Baronet and his mother which gives a sinister edge to their machinations.

The interspersed facsimile pages from the original manuscript are very instructive and show the pains taken by the editors to adhere to the author’s word. For anyone who loves Australian history or even just a good yarn, this book more than claims a spot in the book collection. I hardly finished it before it was “borrowed” by someone…

AMAZED BY SOMEONE SO YOUNG | Sue F, Gold Coast | 5 April 2010 | I have just today finished Tom Hurstbourne.  My summation is that it is a great yarn.  He tells a story that I would have expected to have been written by a man towards the end of his working life, and I was constantly amazed that it was written as early as it was [by a 27-year-old].

It took me quite a while to divorce myself from the notion that there was a semi-autobiographical aspect to the story, and perhaps I was looking for parallels in order to better understand my roots. Upon completion, I gained much by re-reading the Introduction and Foreword.

MAMMOTH EFFORT | Peter Brockett, Newstead | 3 April 2010 | I thoroughly enjoyed reading Tom Hurstbourne. It was like opening a window to a by-gone world, with the melodrama, convoluted plot and attitudes of the time, all adding to the atmosphere.

Overall I thought it was well written, with plenty of detail and humour and whilst the storyline was predictable, the showdown, when good finally overcame evil, was as devious and devilish as any in a modern day “blockbuster”.

The historical detail was fascinating and I was so interested in the portrayal of the bushrangers that I set about tracking down a copy of a childhood favourite, Frank Clune’s Wild Colonial Boys (1948) via Stella Books in Monmouthshire. I am now wading through 600-odd pages of the lives, times and antics of Gardiner, Hall, Gilbert and the other bushrangers “borrowed” by JCW to see if both authors (80 years apart) saw these outlaws in the same light – so that is a personal little spin-off that you have created for me!

Of course, it is a great pity that this novel wasn’t published in JCW’s lifetime, and that he didn’t get to write another (as far as we know), but you have done the next best thing by finally getting it to market as it is a very valuable addition to Queensland’s and Australia’s history. You are both to be congratulated on the mammoth effort you have put into completing this project.

ENDNOTE APPETIZER | Noel C, Rockhampton | 23 March 2010 | I checked out all the endnotes before I began to read – a sort of literary appetizer. Some of the notes explained references in a few advertisements, such as this one from the Rockhampton Bulletin May 1872. I guessed the general significance of the allusion, but now understand it fully thanks to your endnote 81 in Tom Hurstbourne.

STORY FROM THE FRONT LINE | 16 March 2010 | Dave L, Ashgrove | This is not an artist’s impression, this is a record of life in Australia as it was being lived, a story from the front line!

Heed not what the academics say. Nothing ever pleases them as they are in a world of their own. I, an ordinary common garden reader of books and amateur historian, thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the flowery sometimes overpowering Victorian melodramatic language. I readily accept it as a tale of the Australia of which my daughter (through her mother) is sixth generation. Well done to all concerned in bringing this manuscript to life.

COULD MAKE A GREAT MOVIE | 2 March 2010 | Beres M, Brisbane | Congratulations to you both. What an achievement! I stand in awe of the patience you must have had to produce all those endnotes. I whizzed back and forth all through the first chapter and was quite relieved to get moving on the beginning of Tom’s Australian adventure.

I have finished reading Tom Hurstborne. Couldn’t put it down at the finish. I thought, “Oh Yes, he marries Fanny and lives happily ever after,” but it didn’t occur to me who would turn up trumps at the end. It wasn’t an easy read, but a fascinating one. I will now get down to studying the details. It could amuse me for a month or more. I think it could make a great movie.