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The Jam Maker

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The Jam Maker

By: Mary-Lou Stephens
Narrated by: Casey Withoos
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About this listen

Jam is sweet but it can also burn.

Tasmania, 1874. Growing up in the impoverished tenements along the Hobart Rivulet, Harriet Brown is used to doing whatever it takes to survive. Including, at just twelve years old, shearing off her hair and pretending to be a boy to secure a job as label-paster at the George Peacock and Sons jam factory.

Four years later, the deceit becomes too much to bear and Harriet risks everything on the chance at a future with her ambitious friend and workmate Henry Jones. But this decision forces her into a new deception: play the role of expert jam maker, or else be cast out onto the streets.

As the secrets and lies grow, Harriet is driven to more and more desperate choices. Choices that will end with a dangerous secret which, if discovered, could destroy not only her life but the lives of those she loves and protects.

Intertwined with the fascinating history of the Tasmanian jam industry and the striking historical figure Henry Jones, The Jam Maker is a tale of danger, deceit and the desperate measures one woman will take to succeed in love and life.

©2025 Mary-Lou Stephens 20th Century Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction World War I
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Wonderful story with detailed and likeable characters. Beautifully read. Familiar places bring historical Tasmania back to life.

Enjoyable listen

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The characters were very easy to connect with. Story behind Henry Jones so interesting. Loved all the history.

Setting the scene around Hobart so well

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Such a fabulous book!! I can’t wait for the chocolate factory next .. wonderful story teller

Loved it

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Loved the realisation that this was based, in part, on fact… the era & the generations. The hard, but ‘simple’ work of Making Jam.
Fabulous narration to boot - thank you :)

The ‘ordinary’ lives, that can be extraordinary!

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Historically accuracy is to be commended. While there was of course an element of fiction to the story, The Jam Factory remains engrained in my psyche as I grew up in Tasmania along with Henry and Henrietta, although decades apart. I still have recollections of the IXL brand and what Henry meant by it. It certainly was something he adhered to every day. And if you missed it it means I Excel! Which my dad pointed out to me when I was little.

Heart warming yet tense.

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