Redeeming Sarah

It is 1854 in Melbourne. Gold fever is sweeping through the colony. The Bradshaw family, Thomas, Jane and baby Sarah have newly arrived from England and are making a life for themselves.

Tragedy strikes. Jane dies in childbirth. Three year old Sarah finds herself in an inhospitable land with no family support except a father whose motivations are fuelled by ambition and opportunity.

She experiences abandonment, loneliness and an unwanted pregnancy before she meets Alexander Hamilton, the love of her life. They have ten happy years and three children together. After his death, however, Sarah needs to survive and keep her four children together.  She makes choices which are judged harshly by society and even by some of her own children.

The novel which spans two centuries, from 1847 until 1969, has four voices. Thomas and Jane, Sarah, and her son, William, whose inability to reconcile his mother’s lifestyle with his own moral code causes him lasting anguish. Extensive research has been combined with plausible fiction to bring the characters to life.

It is Sarah’s story but In many ways it is the story of the thousands who came to the colony and through chaos, tragedy and disappointment discovered a resilience they could pass onto their children. Sarah Hamilton was buried in an unmarked grave and most of her grand-children knew nothing of her existence. This novel seeks to redeem her.