Beyond the Blue Mountains [Mass Market Paperback]

Jean Plaidy aka Victoria Holt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 12, 1981

This is a story set against a late eighteenth and early nineteenth century background, telling how the evils of their time affected the lives of three generations of women. Kitty Kennedy loses her lover before Carolan is born; Katharine, Carolan's child, chooses what must inevitably be a life of danger; but it is Carolan, sensitive and proud, bold and reckless, who must suffer most deeply and who is the central figure around whom events revolve.Her adventures in the East End, in Newgate Jail and in the foul women's quarters on the prison ship transporting her to Australia are told with terrible clarity and a powerful imagination. The profligacy, perversion, vice and cruelty of that age are forcefully recreated. Having survived the journey and been taken to the house of Masterman of Sydney, Carolan finds that her experiences have changed her from an innocent girl to a ruthless woman, determined to establish herself in the Masterman household, and her method of doing so is such as will haunt her for the rest of her life. The main characters in this unusual novel are not only vivid but convincing. There is the gay and amorous Marcus, vain Kitty, bawdy Margery and sweet Katharine; there is Masterman who, for love of Carolan, forgets he is ambitious and a Puritan; the pious Esther, and Carolan herself--these and many others, living in a world of crime and horror, dirt and luxury, cruelty and indifference are all reaching out hopefully to better times beyond the symbolic Blue Mountains.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett Crest Books (October 12, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449244512
• ISBN-13: 978-0449244517
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,621,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars more along the lines of Victoria Holt, June 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond the Blue Mountains (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read all of Victoria Holt's novels, I moved onto her other books written under other names. I had started other Jean Plaidys, but found them boring, but Beyond the Blue Mountains is excellent. The only thing I did not enjoy was the portrayal of Kitty in her daughter Carolan's section of the novel. Also, not enought time was actually spent in Australia to warrant the title of the book. The Australian part is by far the best in the book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better then expected!, September 28, 1997

By 

Miss F (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Blue Mountains (Mass Market Paperback)

I was a bit unsure about the book before I read it, seeing as Jean Plaidy usually writes about specific historical persons and not general history, and I like her other books. After reading the first chapters though it was as absorbing as all the others. The story is about three generations of women. It tells you about London and Australia and how life was then.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Woefully forgotten, yet an interesting book., July 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond the Blue Mountains (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm only sixteen and I read this book age eleven, but even I can see how good it is. It shows us the cruelty and evil that existed in the Georgian era and the horros of transportation. The heroine Carolan is engaging and it's heart breaking to see her changed by her experiences - she goes from well-meaning girl to hardened woman. The good thing about this is that it is shown belivably. Every facet of this story counts, so it merits much rereading.