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Loading... Het land van belofte (original 2007; edition 2014)by Sarah Lark, Jolanda Te Lindert
Work InformationIn the Land of the Long White Cloud by Sarah Lark (2007)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Two young English women embark on an adventure to New Zealand in the late 19th century to marry unknown men. Both surprised by their partners, who turn out to be bitter enemies. Yet the women find a way to stay in touch and we follow their lives, that of their children, as well as orphan girls sent on the same boat to work in this strange place on the edge of the world, with the ever mysterious Māori playing an important part of the plot. Excellent first book in a trilogy. ( ) Londres, 1852: dos chicas emprenden la travesía en barco hacia Nueva Zelanda. Para ellas significa el comienzo de una nueva vida como futuras esposas de unos hombres a quienes no conocen. Gwyneira, de origen noble, está prometida al hijo de un magnate de la lana, mientras que Helen, institutriz de profesión, ha respondido a la solicitud de matrimonio de un granjero. Ambas deberán seguir su destino en una tierra a la que se compara con el paraíso. Pero ¿hallarán el amor y la felicidad en el extremo opuesto del mundo? This was a wonderful book. I was drawn in immediately by the characters and the setting. A lovely mixture of drama and history. This book was so well written. I would like to read more of Sarah Lark's work. I think the research was thorough and accurate. I didn't realize it was translated until I finished the book. Wonderful saga of an unfamiliar land I never knew very much about New Zealand but this book had such a wonderful sense of place and history. The main characters were two women - Helen and Gwyneira- who met on a ship as they sailed from London in search of a better fate than they were destined for at home. Although their lives took very different paths upon arriving in the strange new land, their friendship lasts a lifetime. As with all multigenerational sagas, there were many characters to keep track of, but the author made their stories real and interesting: orphans from London sent as virtual slaves, sheep barons growing wealthy by stealing land from the peaceful and unsuspecting Maiori tribe, prospectors drawn by the promise of gold and untold riches, etc. I really loved this story. The characters were great. The setting in New Zealand was so interesting to me. This was a book that I found hard to put down. It's a long book but I was interested all the way to the end. I am excited to read the other books in this trilogy! There are some scandalous parts, it reminded me a little of Colleen McCullough's The Thornbirds. no reviews | add a review
Distinctions
Helen Davenport, governess for a wealthy London household, longs for a family of her own--but nearing her late twenties, she knows her prospects are dim. Then she spots an advertisement seeking young women to marry New Zealand's honorable bachelors and begins an affectionate correspondence with a gentleman farmer. When her church offers to pay her travels under an unusual arrangement, she jumps at the opportunity. Meanwhile, not far away in Wales, beautiful and daring Gwyneira Silkham, daughter of a wealthy sheep breeder, is bored with high society. But when a mysterious New Zealand baron deals her father an unlucky blackjack hand, Gwyn's hand in marriage is suddenly on the table. Her family is outraged, but Gwyn is thrilled to escape the life laid out for her. The two women meet on the ship to Christchurch--Helen traveling in steerage, Gwyn first class--and become unlikely friends. When their new husbands turn out to be very different than expected, the women must help one another find the life--and love-- they'd hoped for. Set against the backdrop of colonial nineteenth-century New Zealand, In the Land of the Long White Cloud is a soaring saga of friendship, romance, and unforgettable adventure. No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)833.92Literature German literature and literatures of related languages German fiction Modern period (1900-) 1990-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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