Another beautifully written and immersive read from Mary- Lou Stephens. The Jam Maker covers half a century and combines the fictional story of Harriet with the founders of IXL Jam, Henry and Alice Jones. It was interesting to learn about the history of IXL- from feuding brothers, a boy who pasted labels on jars taking over to how the name came about . Both Henry and Alice were interesting characters I admired Henry for his work ethic and Alice for her business savvy.

However, the real star of the novel was Harriet, she was such a resourceful and hard working woman who went through so much heartbreak. At the age of twelve she was made to dress as a boy to attend work and then married off at sixteen. Whilst her love life may have been a disaster I loved her passion for jam making, the interesting flavours jams her company produced and how she put together her own found family.

Mary- Lou’s writing style transports you other worlds. She made the wharves of Hobart and orchards of the Huon Valley come alive. Her books are so thoroughly researched you always get such a good feel for the time periods she writes in. Whilst the main story featured the Tasmanian Jam industry the fifty year time period also covered a lot of history including the introduction to machinery and refrigeration, the failure of the Bank of Van Diemen’s Land, mines closing, recessions, the Boer War, World War I, Queen Victoria’s death and Federation. Whilst it packs a lot in, the storylines are so engaging and I loved how towards the end it brought all three of her books together. It’s always an absolute pleasure getting lost in one of Mary- Lou’s books.