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This book was first published in 1992.
In the late 1840's, in the Highlands of Scotland, the potato crop failed. This was followed by an epidemic of cholera. Later, after 1852 the Highland and Island Emigration Society helped many crofters to emigrate to Victoria in Australia. This is the story of a group of such crofters who took part in these "famine clearances" of 1852. It is told from the viewpoint of a thirteen-year- old girl - Morag MacDonald.
Morag and her family leave their home for the last time and, together with the rest of their little township walk across to Skye to the east coast where they embark on a paddle steamer which takes them to Greenock where they transfer to the barque, Georgiana.
The background is described in great detail. In the first two chapters, in a few pages, we are given a clear picture of the "black houses" of Skye and the way of life of the crofters. Then there is a brief description of the slums of Greenock and there is a very full description of life on board the Georgiana. The islanders are carefully prepared for life in Australia. They are taught to eat with a knife and fork - instead of with their fingers. They are made to have their long, unkempt hair cut short. There are English lessons because most of them speak only Gaelic, and there is dancing every day to keep them fit.
Finally, when they reach Geelong we are shown Australia through their eyes - the journey by bullock cart to the sheep station. They had not realised just how big Australia is - and that they could be miles from their nearest neighbour. Writing home to her old minister, Morag says that the work is harder than at home but there is more to eat.
But they do settle down and the story ends with a description of the New Year celebrations.
One other important feature of the book. Throughout the islanders are sustained by their strong Christian faith.
The book is strongly founded on fact. The voyage of the Georgiana is based on the real voyage of that ship in 1852 and no attempt has been made to introduce a superfluous story element. The truth is quite dramatic enough. There is the hint of mystery about Rory MacRae and there is the mutiny when the ship reaches Geelong and the crew desert and run off to the gold diggings - but that actually happened.
Judith O'Neill is an Australian whose own great-great-grandparents emigrated from Skye to Victoria in 1852. So here she is virtually writing about her own ancestors.
A well researched book with an authentic, detailed background which is, nevertheless, written in a fluent, easy to read style.
Fascinating.
Shortlisted for the Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal.
12 to adult.
A sequel to So Far from Skye.
Hearing Voices is not historical but it does explain what happened to the MacDonald family in Australia.
Malcolm MacDonald lives in Edinburgh. He flies out to Australia for a MacDonald family gathering. He wants to know why his father suddenly left Australia several years ago. Malcolm finds the answer - but in so doing he puts himself in great danger.
Of particular interest to readers of So Far from Skye will be the descriptions of the various phases of the family gathering where all questions about Morag and her family are answered. For example, who did Morag marry? The answer is in Hearing Voices.
This book was first published in 1964.
This is fiction which is very firmly founded on fact. The story of the Highland Clearances - in this case from Sutherland in 1812 - and the later founding of the Red River Colony in Canada, is told as it affects one particular small family.
It starts with the ten-year-old twins, Davie and Kirsty Murray collecting mussels and crabs on the beach. Then the factor, Patrick Sellar rides up and tells the children that the shellfish belong to the Countess of Sutherland and orders them to throw them back on the beach. The children stand their ground and argue with him and he takes his whip to Davie.
A few days later a notice is pinned to the door of their cottage saying the tenancy of their croft has been terminated and they must quit the house and lands in a few weeks.
There is nothing they can do. Mr Murray sells the animals and most of their possessions. Then Patrick Sellar's men come and burn the cottage. The Murrays load everything onto a cart and go first to Dornock and then across Scotland to Ullapool, where they get a ship to Stornoway and then another to Glasgow,
In Glasgow they find cramped, dirty lodgings. Mr Murray cannot find work but Davie and Kirsty are employed all day in a cotton mill. Then there is a ray of hope. Mr Murray receives a letter from his brother telling him that the Earl of Selkirk is setting up a colony in Canada. Their names have been put forward by a former employee of the Hudson's Bay Company.
It is a chance for Mr Murray to become a farmer again and once again the family are on their travels. By carrier cart to Leith and ship to the Orkneys where they join the emigrant ship bound for Hudson's Bay.
There is danger on the voyage from an iceberg. Then there is an outbreak of typhus fever. The ship's captain takes the emigrants to Churchill instead of York Factory where they are expected and the Murrays have to make an arduous journey on snowshoes. Later they travel by foot and canoe seven hundred miles to the south to the Red River.
Once arrived their troubles are not over. The settlers build their cabins and start to farm the land. They are helped by a friendly Indian chief called Peguis. Then trouble breaks out. There is trouble between the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company. The Northwesters attack the infant colony. The cabins are destroyed and settlers killed and there is much hardship and sorrow before Lord Selkirk brings a company of soldiers to defend them.
Despite everything this is a happy book. This is because the spirit and resourcefulness of Davie and Kirsty shine through all the adversities. By telling the story of the Highland Clearances from the viewpoint of one particular family Kathleen Fidler has humanised a very significant event in the history of both Scotland and Canada.
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