Review: New World and New Life
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 29, 2014
This book takes one across the world as new settlers; the difference being that the girl goes as a governess with the owner of a property. Set in the 1800s it does a good job of getting under the skin of the girl and you can empathise with her.  The description of the new land is very pictorial  and the writer has a grasp of the environment but also you do see this world clearly through the eyes of an intelligent young woman.  It may be two centuries ago but she is very modern in her views and observations.  Matilda is aptly named and you grow to like her, marvelling at the strength of the Victorian woman coping with life's problems.  She is definitely a strong character and the book moves through her different adventures at a rapid pace.  She is a capable horse woman and has other attributes that make one wonder, but these are insignificant details put against the broad spectrum of life on a property in the early days of settlement.  As the writer says at one stage, she is "a mixture of feisty tomboy and shy debutante, all wrapped up in one delightful package".  Enough said - an endearing book.