Barbara Ann Mojica's BLOG

The Midwife of Parramatta River: Life, Love, and Childbirth on the Australian Frontier

Written by Werner Stejskal

For fans of historical fiction, this short novel is a good choice.

Set in the early nineteenth century in the rugged frontier of New South Wales colony, the protagonist is Sergeant James Graham, who is a member of the Coldstream Guards. The journey to Australia is long and dangerous. Upon his arrival, Graham builds a cottage and divides his long days between duties of a police guard and a struggling farmer.

Graham is lonely and soon writes to his brother seeking a good English woman who would be willing to settle in this untamed land. He finds a strong woman who soon helps him build a midwife practice along the Parramatta River.

The story depicts the difficult life in the early Australian frontier and reveals a tender love story. It is a moving historical portrait of the difficult life of pioneers in a setting unfamiliar to most readers.

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