The Last Of The Bonegilla Girls

· Sold by HarperCollins Australia
4.7
11 reviews
Ebook
432
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

A post-Second World War story of strong female ties and family, secrets and lies, set in the multicultural Australia of the fifties.

Can the Bonegilla girls defeat their past? Or will it come to claim them?

1954: When sixteen–year–old Hungarian Elizabeta arrives in Australia with her family, she is hoping to escape the hopelessness of life as a refugee in post–war Germany.

Her first stop is the Bonegilla Migrant Camp on the banks of the Murray in rural Victoria, a temporary home for thousands of new arrivals, all looking for work and a better life. There,
Elizabeta becomes firm friends with the feisty Greek Vasiliki; quiet Italian Iliana; and the adventurous Frances, the daughter of the camp's director.

In this vibrant and growing country, the Bonegilla girls rush together towards a life that seems full of promise, even as they cope with the legacy of war, the oppressive nature of family tradition and ever–present sorrow. So when a ghost from the past reaches out for Elizabeta and threatens to pull her back into the shadows, there is nothing that her friends wouldn't do to keep her safe.

But secrets have a way of making themselves known and lies have a way of changing everything they touch...

MORE PRAISE

'A poignant and compelling read, this is a delightful novel that celebrates all that is good in our multicultural country. It's a beautiful story about female friendship and how it can transcend cultural and language barriers.' - Books + Publishing

'A heartwarming novel...' - The Weekly Times

'A story of strong female ties and family.' - Better Reading

Ratings and reviews

4.7
11 reviews
Sarah Verdon
November 3, 2018
The story kept building across decades, the hardships of women in the post war era are beautifully and heartbreakingly described across languages, cultures and generations.
3 people found this review helpful
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Ann Skinn
July 19, 2018
Couldn't put it down. Love how the story followed each one of the girls.
1 person found this review helpful
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About the author

Victoria Purman is an Australian top ten and USA Today bestselling fiction author. Her most recent book, A Woman's Work, was an Australian bestseller, as were her novels The Nurses' War,The Women's Pages, The Land Girls and The Last of the Bonegilla Girls. Her earlier novel The Three Miss Allens was a USA Today bestseller. She is a regular guest at writers festivals, a mentor and workshop presenter and was a judge in the fiction category for the 2018 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and the 2022 ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize for an unpublished manuscript.To find out more, visit Victoria's website, victoriapurman.com.You can also follow her on Facebook or Instagram (@victoriapurmanauthor) and Twitter (@VictoriaPurman)

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