I'm delighted today to be joining in with the blog tour for Carol Jones' historical fiction novel The Boy with Blue Trousers. Here is the synopsis - read on below to find out what I thought.
On the goldfields of 19th-century Australia, two very different girls are trying to escape their past.
English governess Violet Hartley has fled from England after a scandalous liaison. Now she's angling for a rich husband and a new life.
Little Cat is fleeing from her home in Southern China after killing the powerful old man who tried to abuse her. Disguised as a boy, she joins the huge Chinese workforce on the goldfields of Victoria. But the son of the murdered man is on her trail, intent on vengeance. Violet Hartley becomes first suspicious and then jealous of the delicate looking Chinese boy.
Love, sexual desire, violence, and financial ambition entwine in this mesmerising saga.
I read this one on my kindle, which means I missed out on that gorgeous cover, but also that I hadn't read the synopsis very closely until I looked it up just now, and I feel like less of Little Cat's story was set on the goldfields than I expected.Perhaps this was to do with the pacing - I found myself racing though the second half as the stories came together.
This book sits pretty comfortably in my wheelhouse. I love stories about how migrants arrived in Australia, and what it might have been like for them, especially when they centre on women - I love seeing women's stories written back into history.
I think the bits of the story told from Little Cat's perspective were my favourite. I really liked how strong she was, and the way she fought against the restrictions society put around her. I really felt the wonder of all the things she was experiencing for the first time. I thought Jones did an excellent job of giving her two heroines distinct voices - their chapters definitely felt different.
Violet was an interesting character. I couldn't decide whether I disliked or admired her. In the narrative told from her perspective she is open and unapologetic about the fact she is basically out to catch a husband, but it was also clear that there was little else that she could do if she wanted to thrive in her new life.
I thought this was a fairly easy and quick read about a time and place in our history that I haven't read lot about before (something I hope to change!). I think this would be a good one for readers who enjoyed Darry Fraser's The Widow of Ballarat.
Thanks so much to the team at Head of Zeus for having me on the blog tour!
xo Bron
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The Boy with Blue Trousers by Carol Jones
The Boy with Blue Trousers by Carol Jones
Out now from Head of Zeus
Source: Free ebook provided by Head of Zeus
