Family Drama /Nautical
1800s
Emigration to Australia
“In 1841, on the eve of her departure from
London, Bridie's mother demands she forget her dead father and prepare for a
sensible, adult life in Port Phillip. Desperate to save her childhood,
fifteen-year-old Bridie is determined to smuggle a notebook filled with her
father's fairy tales to the far side of the world.
When Rhys Bevan, a soft-voiced young storyteller
and fellow traveller realises Bridie is hiding something, a magical friendship
is born. But Rhys has his own secrets and the words written in Bridie’s
notebook carry a dark double meaning.
As they inch towards their destination, Rhys's
past returns to haunt him. Bridie grapples with the implications of her dad’s
final message. The pair take refuge in fairy tales, little expecting the
trouble it will cause.”
The plot of
this expertly-written novel begins and then builds upon the matter of secrets
and whether to trust or not. The Tides
Between could be mistaken, at first, for a romance or a fantasy novel, but it
is neither, it is a drama with
supernatural elements added in for good measure.
With the
narrative taking place aboard ship – the Lady
Sophia bound for Port Philip near Melbourne – during the long passage from
England to Australia the author has portrayed a very good depiction of life at
sea for the emigrants, the long dull days when only story-telling can relieve
the monotony of struggling to stay alive at steerage (low-cost) level.
Fifteen-year-old Bridie, her step-father and pregnant mother are to meet others
who also hope for a better, new, life on a far distant shore. Welsh Rhys and
Sian also have their own hopes, fears and secrets and their friendship grows
with Bridie when they realise their joint love of storytelling – especially for
the old, Welsh tales.
I must confess
that I struggled with the Welsh language passages and the myths, personally, I
found the Welsh a little overdone – but for lovers (and speakers!) of Welsh and
the old tales of Wales this would be a very readable novel. I believe the novel
is aimed at Young Readers – would non-Welsh speaking thirteen to fifteen-year-olds be patient enough with the Welsh content I wonder?
Having said
that, it was easy enough to skip the Welsh bits and enjoy the other parts of
the story for its passion, delightful characters and feel of authenticity.
© Ellen Hill
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