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Beneath the Southern Cross

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Beneath the Southern Cross

By: Judy Nunn
Narrated by: Richard Aspel
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About this listen

From the bestselling author of Maralinga.

In 1788, Thomas Kendall, a naive nineteen-year-old sentenced to transportation for burglary, finds himself bound for Sydney Town in the penal colony of New South Wales. Discarding allegiance to the country that has disowned him, Thomas, an honest man at heart, seizes a second chance and begins a new life in the wild and lawless land beneath the Southern Cross.

Thomas Kendall fathers a dynasty that will last beyond 200 years. His descendants play their part in the forging of a nation, but internal strife and the privileges of wealth see an irreparable rift in the family. Driven by passion, greed and prejudice, this rift will echo through generations. It is only when a young man reaches far into the past and rights grievous wrong that the Kendall family can reclaim its honour.

©1999 Judy Nunn (P)2002 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt
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The story is very interesting and clever. At times not put 'downable', but it lacks the class of a prize-winner.
It weaves Australian (particularly Sydney) history into a family saga.
Blasphemy may well reflect parts of society, yet authors need not succumb to it. They demonstrate disdain for some readers, by ignoring their concern over cursing and swearing. That part gives a 'good' novel a bogan feel.
The narration was really good apart from the American whine and Otto's Dutch.
If narrators cannot imitate expertly, it is best left in their own tongue.

Good story, shame about cursing.

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I found this book a bit long winded. The history behind it was very interesting. But on the whole pretty good.

A good background on Australia

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The book provides an engrossing saga of several generations of an Australian family based around Sydney starting from a convict past up to almost to the present time. The characters are well developed and not idealized. As well as being enjoyable, the book provides a painless lesson in Australian history. I thoroughly recommend it.

Both Enjoyable and Educational

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Congratulations Judy Nunn on writing an excellent historical novel on this wonderful country...this novel should be used as a high school examination novel....it portrays the highs and lows of family life intertwined with many of the major events that Australia has endured over the last 220 years....i was always worried about Hannah's diary and whether it would last to tell the tale....i would be interested to know if the diary and story was based on a real diary....well done...it was riveting and totally enjoyable....recommend to anyone looking for a good read or history lesson on Australia....thank you

Excellent

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What a fantastic book this is! From convicts to aboriginies to the class system - it covers so much and really takes you back in time - noticing how much we've moved on whilst at the same time noticing how much we haven't.

Fabulous listen!

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What made the experience of listening to Beneath the Southern Cross the most enjoyable?

This was a wonderful inter generational story from convict arrival to present time which took me, a lover of genealogy, along the journey to follow the Kendall's family tree. I loved how the beginning also becomes the end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Beneath the Southern Cross?

Where do I start.
* Listening to Sydney develop.... From the beginning to now.... Judy & Richard took me there.
* I loved Arty's ability to 'guide' Kitty to who she became

Have you listened to any of Richard Aspel’s other performances? How does this one compare?

This is the first and I will certainly find more

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

?

A wonderful journey through Sydney's history

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a great story with a somewhat frustrating ending. but still 10/10!
more work needs to be done on accents though by the narrator.

First rate

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.