 |
|
|
DESCRIPTION
Imagine finding an ancient stage photo of a young singer 'Miss Zenna
Dare' and wondering if it's your great-great-great-grandmother's face
smiling out at you.
When Jenefer moves to the old family home in country Kapunda, she uncovers a secret from the past.
What sort of life did Gweniver, her great-great-great-grandmother, lead? And what connection did she have with Zenna Dare?
Could a nineteenth-century mother of nine have led a double life and, if
so, why?
At her new school Jenefer makes a friend, Caleb, an aboriginal, and even though they share the same contemporary culture, she wishes she could have a cultural background, to know who she
really is, as Caleb seems to.
With Caleb's help Jenefer unravels her mystery and discovers much more than a family secret. In a story crossing five generations, from Cornwall, the old world, to
South Australia in the new, Zenna Dare brings reconciliation in more ways than Jenefer could ever have imagined.
|
|
|
|
|
REVIEW
This accomplished novel parallels a 19th century and a contemporary love story, and canvases racism, reconciliation and the power of forgiveness. Jenefer resents being relocated to her family’s ancestral home at Kapunda, but her imagination is caught by a model cottage that houses all the elements of a family mystery, and her heart by Caleb, a poised, perceptive Aboriginal classmate. This richly textured tale of family relationships and changing morality across two centuries is both enthralling and thought-provoking.
Katherine England, Advertiser, Sept 14, 2002.
|
|
