I’m on a roll for reading fantastic historical fiction and The Woolgrower’s Companion was no exception! It’s a fabulous read, full of history detail, heartbreak, endurance and love.

I loved the beautiful descriptions of Australia, in particular the wonderful sunsets. The author so vividly described the rugged landscape that I felt I could feel the heat on my face and the dust in my mouth. It was fascinating to learn more about Australian history during the war and to discover they also had rationing and had a shortage of workers due to men away fighting. I’ve always thought they were largely uneffected like America so it was interesting to learn otherwise.

My favourite character was Kate. I thought she was so strong and determined trying to keep the farm going and keep everything together. She obviously loves her father and her home which is very touching to see. When she falls in love I was so happy for her as I felt she deserved it after everything she’d been through.

The love affair was wonderful to read about as it felt so real. It was so tender and sweet which was even more touching when contrasted against such a rugged harsh landscape. It was a great to see Kate let her hair down a bit and get a break from the stress of her life. I was on tenderhooks throughout the book wondering what would happen and hoping for a happy ending.

The Woolgrower’s Companion is a fairly easy read which I mean as a compliment. Joy’s writing just draws you into the story and makes you care about the characters you meet there. I wanted to keep reading to find out more about them and to discover what would happen to them. I was quite sad to finish the book and leave them behind but I understand that the author is currently working on a sequel so I’ll look forward to reading that!

Huge thanks to Sian Devine and Vintage books for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book. If you like beautifully written, heartbreaking historical fiction with a wonderful romance at its centre you’ll love this book!

Nicely-researched in terms of the background but the main story is fairly predictable and the book just seems to stop in an unsatisfactory ending. Rhoades captures 1945 attitudes of casual racism and sexism, and the premise of Italian POWs being put to work in a sheep-station is an intriguing one. I would have liked more depth in the characters and less predictability - overall, a light and undemanding read with a good sense of time and place.

A detailed and well written account of life on the land at the conclusion of WWII in Australia.
Times are tough, the drought goes on and personal circumstances make life for Kate a challenge to say the least.

‘You were right, you know,’ Meg called. ‘Sheilas have to be brave every bloody day. Men just need it in bursts, the bastards.’

I enjoyed how each chapter title included a quote from, ‘The Woolgrower’s Companion’; and how the author tried to tie in the text to events that were to immediately unfold. Aside from an interesting narrative, there are many topical issues fictionalised which made for interesting reading.

Firstly there are the Australian Aborigines and the ‘Stolen Generation’ - the whole racism issue and the way society treated, especially young Aboriginal girls, in these circumstances is well handled I feel. There is also the anxiety Kate faces concerning her father’s behaviour. Twofold here as on the one hand he faces PTSD from his time in the war and the loss of his wife, followed by what would appear to be the onset of dementia. A traumatic time for all involved, and once again I feel that the author realistically portrayed both the anguish for family and the great sadness for this largely non prescribed disease of the 1940s. I appreciated also how the book presented the strict social codes of the time with regards to Kate and her relationships with everyone from her father, to absent husband, to Aboriginal maid, to even her dealings with the bank manager. Kate’s struggle to evolve in these various roles is again authentic and gently portrayed. Finally we have the addition of Italian POWs brought to Australia to work on outback stations. Shipped from POW camps for labour on these farms, is a fact I was not familiar with and found most interesting.

A little slow at times and with characters needing a little more depth (for example it would have been good to have alternate narrators and not just Kate - what of her father? husband? Luca?) to truly feel engaged with these sad circumstances. However, the author has done her research, even down to all the Australian slang, making this a recommended read should this time period appeal to you.



This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release

A beautifully balanced piece of writing. Joy Roades' tale about a remote Australian sheep farm in the late 1940s vividly conveys how tough life was back then. Aborigines are consistently despised and abused, Befriending them, or indeed befriending the Italian prisoners of war who are assigned to farmers as cheap labour, risks one being ostracised by the local community. Katy and her father work such a farm and her story of love, hardship and determination to break down prejudices shall keep you turning the pages. Every character is given life by Joy's excellent descriptive prose and, as a result, there are many "lump in the throat" moments for the reader. Not only is this book a delight to read but it also captures a lifestyle long gone. A novel to savour.

I very much enjoyed this book and would like to read more work by Joy Rhoades - its tender sensitivity and elegiac tones were a winning combination for me!

Kate Dowd and her father, Ralph, wait on the railway platform to collect two Italian prisoners of war who have been assigned to work at Amiens, their farm in northern New South Wales. Kate is startled by her reaction to one of the men, Luca, sensing he might be a threat to her emotional well-being.

Ralph displays increasingly erratic behavior—echoes of trauma from the Great War—and he has extended the drought-ravaged farm’s mortgage and overdraft to breaking point. When the bank manager tells Kate they will soon foreclose, that she must pack up and leave within weeks, she is devastated. With an incapacitated father and no help from her husband, Jack, who is away on army service, Kate is forced to find her own way to save Amiens.

The descriptions of life on a 1940s Australian sheep station are authentic, as are all the characters that inhabit this often confronting landscape. Although a little naïve and rather too quick to make assumptions, Kate does accurately reflect a woman of her era who had been raised to be reliant on men and has to learn to assert herself. Just when she thinks her problems are solved, there are new shocks, and she must extend her courage even further to include responsibility for the young Aboriginal maid, Daisy, as well as risk her heart with Luca. The conclusion has a bittersweet quality that may make you a little teary eyed, so if you need comfort food just check out the famous Country Women’s Association recipes provided in the end notes.

This subtle and perceptive debut novel by Joy Rhoades was inspired in part by her own grandmother’s experiences on a farm during WW2. Its honesty and truth shine through on every page, and it deserves the highest recommendation.

Beautifully written and heartrending story. I loved it.

This story set on the other side of the world and at an interesting time in history had me gripped. Towards the end of WW2 the Australians were having to rely on PoWs to keep the rural economy going as so many of their own men were away fighting. The struggle to survive, especially at a time of drought, in the unforgiving landscape was well told and full of interesting characters. In addition to the relationships with the PoWs there was the situation at the time with the Aborigines who were not generally well treated. Add to that the troubles posed by an ever sickening father and our heroine was really up against it. Engrossing and well worth the read.

A real page turner, love this kind of descriptive novel. Will definitely look out for this author in future