Esty's Gold

Mary Arrigan (author)

Frances Lincoln Books, UK: 2009

ISBN: 9781845079659

Genres: adventure, historical fiction

Issues: social conditions, resilience, family

It's Ireland during the time of the Great Hunger (the famine caused by the Potato Blight). Esty's father, a Middleman for an English lord, is killed while trying to protect those being evicted. As a result his wife, father and daughter lose their lodging and Esty is forced into service, training to be a lady's maid.

Esty, thrown outside the sheltered world of her childhood, finds herself developing a fighting spirit she didn't know she had. Determined that her family shall have a better, freer life, Esty persuades them to move to Australia, where gold has been discovered in Ballarat. Like many others, they dream of striking it rich. Like many others, they find that prospecting is a hard life and gold difficult to find. But Esty's determination drives them on and as they discover their own strengths and abilities, they also discover that true wealth lies within - and in the relationships between them.

A well-researched story, Arrigan's narrative is the more enthralling as it's based on real events. The situation in Ireland, only a brief part of the story, is heart-wrenching. The harsh, ruthless conditions of the goldfields are explored in more detail, showing the many ways other than mining in which people made a living. Peter Lalor's attempts to get better treatment for the miners provides added drama, as Esty's family are drawn into the fight. Arrigan breathes life and personality into historical figures and surrounds them with characters that the reader will care about. This is no dry recitation of past events but a gripping narrative about a time of change, when people from all over the world are seeking great freedom and independence from stifling English rule. Highly recommended.