RIFLING PARADISE - Tapa dura

"Creepy and confronting . . . captures the atmosphere of the bush, the beauty of our birds, and the harshness of colonial life."-"Independent Weekly"
"Immediately gripping . . . an epic tale whose figures in a landscape encapsulate a turning point in history."-"Times Literary Supplement"
"A narrative so vivid that you can almost smell the eucalyptus . . . full of intrigue, emotion and individual realization."-"Morning Star"

"Poster ("Courting Shadows", 2008) starts this story in Victorian England, but it is his vivid portrayal of the outback and the psychological tension of Redbourne's exploits there that are most memorable. A skillfully wrought, disquieting novel."-"Booklist"
"It sounds like hyperbole but I don't care: Jem Poster's sophomore effort, "Rifling Paradise" (Overlook) is as near perfect a book as I have encountered in a very long time. It is a work of historical fiction and the history here -- Australia in the Victorian era -- is pitch perfect. "Rifling Paradise" looks like a book, but it is not: it's really a time machine. The story finds minor English landowner, Charles Redbourne, heading to Australia to make an impression as a naturalist, at a time when that was a weirdly competitive field. If "Rifling Paradise" was just Redbourne's story, it would be interesting enough: it would be a good book. But when Redbourne's specimen collecting takes a terrifying turn, we find ourselves with a

"Poster ("Courting Shadows," 2008) starts this story in Victorian England, but it is his vivid portrayal of the outback and the psychological tension of Redbourne's exploits there that are most memorable. A skillfully wrought, disquieting novel."-"Booklist"
"It sounds like hyperbole but I don't care: Jem Poster's sophomore effort, "Rifling Paradise" (Overlook) is as near perfect a book as I have encountered in a very long time. It is a work of historical fiction and the history here -- Australia in the Victorian era -- is pitch perfect. "Rifling Paradise" looks like a book, but it is not: it's really a time machine. The story finds minor English landowner, Charles Redbourne, heading to Australia to make an impression as a naturalist, at a time when that was a weirdly competitive field. If "Rifling Paradise" was just Redbourne's story, it would be interesting enough: it would be a good book. But when Redbourne's specimen collecting takes a terrifying turn, we find ourselves with

"Poster (Courting Shadows, 2008) starts this story in Victorian England, but it is his vivid portrayal of the outback and the psychological tension of Redbourne+s exploits there that are most memorable. A skillfully wrought, disquieting novel."-"Booklist" "It sounds like hyperbole but I don+t care: Jem Poster+s sophomore effort, "Rifling Paradise" (Overlook) is as near perfect a book as I have encountered in a very long time. It is a work of historical fiction and the history here -- Australia in the Victorian era -- is pitch perfect. Rifling Paradise looks like a book, but it is not: it+s really a time machine. The story finds minor English landowner, Charles Redbourne, heading to Australia to make an impression as a naturalist, at a time when that was a weirdly competitive field. If "Rifling Paradise" was just Redbourne+s story, it would be interesting enough: it would be a good book. But when Redbourne+s specimen collecting takes a terrifying turn, we find ourselves with a page turner on our hands. So what is "Rifling Paradise"? Is it historical fiction? Literary fiction? Is it a psychological thriller? Or the portrait of an age? Well, actually, it+s all of those things. And more. A wonderful book." -"January" magazine
- "Creepy and confronting . . . captures the atmosphere of the bush, the beauty of our birds, and the harshness of colonial life."-"Independent Weekly"
"Immediately gripping . . . an epic tale whose figures in a landscape encapsulate a turning point in history."-"Times Literary Supplement"
"A narrative so vivid that you can almost smell the eucalyptus . . . full of intrigue, emotion and individual realization."-"Morning Star"

When past indiscretions catch up with Charles Redbourne, a minor English landowner, he is propelled from England to Australia, where he plans to make his mark as a naturalist. There, his life begins to change dramatically, not least when he meets his host's wayward, artistic daughter. But it is on an expedition in search of scientific specimens in the Blue Mountains that events take a terrifying turn. Vividly conveying the unspoken codes of Victorian society, this is a gripping tale of emotional and psychological reckoning that offers an inspired meditation on the relationship between humankind and the natural world.