The Place of the Swan

Readers of historical romance, especially those who enjoyed Irish's And The Wild Birds Sing, will welcome this second volume of her planned Colonial Trilogy. The time is the 1850s, the place, South Australia. Men who arrive on convict ships can still make fortunes in the goldfields, the marketplace or at the gambling tables. Women can hide disreputable pasts to marry well. Brick O'Shea's aboriginal blood has barred him from a government post. Nonetheless, he and his tempestuous wife Raunie climb to the top of the financial and social ladder. Enter Owen Moynan and his offspring, his 16-year-old daughter, Alannah, and his son Conall, whose part in a shooting has forced the family from Ireland. Owen is soon involved in O'Shea's business enterprises. Naive Conall pursues a dissolute life-style in the company of Raunie's son Jamie, while spunky Alannah beguiles and wins Brick O'Shea. Many conventions of historical romance are here: the dark hero of dubious background, the gorgeous, fatally flawed wife and the fetching virgin whose bodice just won't stay fastened. Irish handles these stereotypes with considerable skill, and her writing teems with realistic atmosphere and lively characterizations. (September 22)