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Book Review Archives
Title: Suzannah's Gold
Author: Carol Preston
Publisher: Xulon Press
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 9781921240522
Genre: Historical Fiction.
Book Size: 367 pages
Reviewer: Deborah Porter
Available Through:
Zeus Publications
Koorong Books
Imagine the scene. It's 1837 or '38 and you are a thirteen-year-old slip of a girl living with your mother, father and younger siblings in Limerick, Ireland. One night, while your father is at the local pub, an intruder rapes your mother while you huddle in a back room, trying desperately to keep your little brother and sisters quiet. After the man leaves, you ignore the curfew and rush to get help, racing out onto the street to find your father and bring him home. On your way, you are stopped by the night constable who, without waiting for an explanation, throws you into a wooden cart with other children and youths found out on the streets. Through no fault of your own, one thing leads to another and you find yourself on a boat, being transported to Australia -- simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Readers would be excused for thinking such a story must be the result of the author having read too much Dickens. Yet, this is a true story -- the often tragic and always inspirational story of Suzannah Casey's life, as told in fictionalized form by her great-great-granddaughter, Carol Preston.
Beginning just sixty-two years after the First Fleet's arrival in Australia, Suzannah's Gold is a wonderful saga, sweeping the reader from the dirty streets of Sydney out to the newly settled countryside, in all its untamed wilderness and danger.
Suzannah's story is often overwhelming, particularly as the modern-day reader tries to grasp the struggles and hardships of living through her experiences. Yet, through every hardship and trial -- and there were many -- Suzannah's optimism, resiliency, hope and faith come shining through.
However, Suzannah's Gold is not just the story of the inspirational main character. Her husband, children, extended family and friends all add to the color of this engrossing novel. With honesty, Ms. Preston shows both the good and the bad of some of her ancestors' personalities. Perhaps the most frustrating and heartbreaking character was that of Suzannah's husband, George Oakes. Longing to protect his much younger wife, but constantly feeling as though he failed to achieve that goal, George regularly slumped into melancholy, or what we could recognize today as depression. His decisions and reactions during these bouts of melancholy left Suzannah to hold the family together. And hold it together she did -- leaving a legacy of faith and hope that has been passed down through each generation since.
The author's research was impeccable and should be applauded. Ms. Preston brought a part of Australia's history to life in a way that was fascinating to read. As an Australian myself, I felt a very strong connection with both the characters and the events portrayed -- a connection which was enhanced by the knowledge that this story was based on fact.
Some readers may be a little distracted by the author's constant point of view shifts, from character to character, without an obvious break of scene or focus. Normally, I would be one of those distracted readers; however, in this case the story won over the point of view issue. That really is testimony to the power and strength of the story of Suzannah's Gold.
Being a true story, the ending was not quite what I had hoped for. In reality, it was better. Suzannah's life was inspirational from start to finish, and the final two paragraphs were overwhelmingly beautiful. As I closed the cover, with tears in my eyes, I thanked God for the legacy left by Suzannah Oakes. That legacy of enduring faith, sacrifice, hope and love truly was Suzannah's Gold.
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