{"product_id":"the-fire-within-sara-beaumont-connop-9780648256984","title":"The Fire Within: An Antipodean Escape: An Antipodean Escape","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book is about survival, escaping from a hard death and having to travel to the ends of the earth to do so.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeople immigrated in the past, are doing it now, and will continue to do so into the future; the reason, often as simple as survival, as the story illustrates.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpanning the most tumultuous years in the South Pacific's history, and the events erupting within them, the book places Gilbert and William, two brothers of 13 children, attempting a life in the Shetland Islands.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir family, once proud generals of Bonnie Prince Charlie's armies, escaped the 1745 massacre of Culloden, and fled to the islands incognito, but the brothers were betrayed and shanghaied into the British Navy by Magnus Munson, an age-old nemesis of the clan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe brothers endure the brutality of the six-month voyage to the ends of the earth, and are shipwrecked off the coast of Victoria, Australia, where they are rescued by Bunjil, an Aboriginal man, who guides them over land to Portland, introducing them to the new world's\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eflora and fauna enroute.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLife was hard for the young woman left behind in the Shetlands as well, and following the attempted rape of Grace, their sister, by Munson, the clan agree that Grace, and her best friend, Uileen, will have to make the voyage into the unknown, following the brothers fate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe background themes of freedom, betrayal, love and devotion, and the ever-present grief and loss, play out against the Scottish Highland clearances, the European potato famine, and its impact on Ireland, and immigration to the Antipodes, with all of the lawlessness and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eanarchy that prevails.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is a history of the little discussed phenomenon, in Australia, of 'blackbirding', the South Pacific Island slavery, piracy, and cannibalism; the indispensable contribution of the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChinese immigrants, Ming Toi and Master Pho, along with the Eureka Stockade, describing its buildup and subsequent effects on democracy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eResiliency and perseverance are lined up against the moral complexities overlooked by greed, murder and psychopathy, frequently the companion of goldrushes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe main character's journeys take them to New Zealand, where they witness the land theft by the New Zealand Company, and the ensuing Māori land wars.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere are a diverse range of pivotal secondary characters, such as the exotic Ming Toi and her grandfather, Master Pho from China, the Irish larrikins, Shemus and Flann, alongside their Scottish countryman, Colin Couper, Norwegian Captain Peter Lars Jensen, the Aboriginal\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWarung clan, Black Billy, Bunjil, and Alice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith blackguards like Sir Redmond Gunn, his mistress Ann Munson, and his wife, Lady Agatha and the infamous pirate Bludger Baines decorating and colouring the scenes of daily life in southern Australia, the brother's lives are tested to their maximum limit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe New Zealand contingent include Manaia, a well-known South Island Māori, heroine Barbara Couper and with them, some of the true heroes of the story, the dogs, Haggis, Digger, and Cobber and the rare and magnificent, 'Koru the Kea', New Zealand parrot extraordinaire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThroughout these events, the main characters richly illustrated lives and struggles, to overcome obstacles within themselves, as much as those constructed by class, circumstance, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003erace and gender are described and in addition to the narrative are deeply compelling and exquisite descriptions of the incredible, natural environments that the story takes place in.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The Fire Within' is as much about love, as it is about the historical struggle for freedom from persecution.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Sara Beaumont-Connop\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0648256987\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780648256984\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Sara Beaumont-Connop\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/21\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.82lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.67d","brand":"Sara Beaumont-Connop","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48852632895743,"sku":"9780648256984","price":24.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-fire-within-sara-beaumont-connop-9780648256984","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}