The River Charm

Description

'Could I be anything I want to be? What do I want to be? Maybe just . . . brave?'

Could the ghost girl Millie has painted be her own ancestor? The river pebble charm has an astonishing story to tell . . .

In 1839, Charlotte Atkinson lives on a grand estate with her mamma and her sisters and brother. But after her father dies, things go terribly wrong - murderous convicts, marauding bushrangers and a cruel new stepfather. The family flees on horseback to a hut in the wilderness. They must fight to save their property, their independence and even their right to stay together. Will they ever return to their beautiful home?

Based on the incredible true-life battles of Belinda Murrell's own ancestors, the Atkinsons of Oldbury.

Reviews

"A wonderfully engaging historical fiction novel . . ."The River Charm"captures the simplicity, beauty and incredible hardship of life in Australia in the mid 1800s . . . I love the way Belinda makes history come alive by weaving factual settings and events into such engaging and lively stories." Susan Whelan, kids-bookreview.com"

Author description

Belinda Murrell has worked as a travel journalist, technical writer, editor and public relations consultant. Her overseas adventures inspired her work as a travel writer for the West Australian newspaper and Out and About With Kids travel magazine. Her work has also appeared in the Sun Herald, Sunday Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald. While Belinda studied Children's Literature at Macquarie University, her passion for children's books was reignited when she had her own three children and began telling and writing stories for Nick, Emily and Lachlan. Belinda's books include the Sun Sword fantasy trilogy, Scottish timeslip tale The Locket Of Dreams, French Revolution timeslip tale The Ruby Talisman, Australian timeslip tale The Ivory Rose and Australian historical tales The Forgotten Pearl and The River Charm. Belinda is also an author ambassador for Room to Read and Books in Homes.