Reviews

Fiction

 

Tea-tree Passage

  • The Australian Senior – Many people judge a book by how hard it is to put down. By these standards, Tea-tree Passage is a wonderful book. A powerful and compelling story by Australian author Robyn Lee Burrows … Tea-tree Passage is a wonderful and moving story of a family’s will to survive and overcome all life puts before them. Robyn Lee Burrows ‘ love of research and “all things old” is evident in her passionate prose in Tea-tree Passage … Her writing is not only entertaining but imparts an incredible wealth of information about Australia. Tea-tree Passage leaves the reader with an admiration for people living through such troubled times.
  • Michael Jacobson, Gold Coast Bulletin – A history of massive social, sexual and economic change in Australia and one which, until now, has rarely been fully told … and Burrows weaves her fiction  deeply within the facts … Still, for as much as Robyn Lee Burrows is determined to broaden our knowledge of ourselves she never loses sight of her function as Australian storyteller and entertainer.

 

Song From the Heart

  • Michael Jacobson, Gold Coast Bulletin – Robyn Burrows is diving into the well of Australian history and emerging to create sweeping and entertaining fiction… It is one thing to record the facts of history, the facts of war, but it is entirely another to capture the evocative power of war, particularly one as significant and well known to Australia as World War I. Burrows succeeds in her efforts.
  • The Australian Senior – a fast-moving epic of love, bitter hatred, pride, prejudice and life on the land. Song from the Heart is a dramatic and moving piece of Australian literature in the true romance tradition.
  • Linda Barrow – Bendigo Advertiser – Well written and evocative – a window into the way of life long.
  • Denise Voltz, Hinterland Sun – The narrative is well written, the characters interesting and the plot different, with some surprising turns. Song from the Heart will certainly keep the reader involved until the unexpected conclusion.

 

Where the River Ends

  • Michael Jacobson, Gold Coast Bulletin – A well crafted and flowing historical romance … Where the River Ends is a large work, but a constantly interesting one.
  • The Western Advocate – In the tradition of all the greatest tales of Early Australia, Where the River Ends is a beautifully written story of endurable love and remarkable courage.
  • Denise Voltz, The Hinterland Sun – It covers a fascinating period of Australian history.
  • The Lithgow Mercury – Fine summer holiday reading … a classic tale of romance and courage.
  • Country Update – Great reading, full of mystery and intrigue, and covers the watersheds of Australian history during the 1890s…the book is great lazy summer reading.
  • The Australian Senior – A beautifully written story of enduring love and remarkable courage in the tradition of all the greatest tales of early Australia . It is a fitting progression from her first novel, When Hope is Strong , which received excellent sales and reviews.
  • Courier Mail – The freedom [of writing fiction] is always constrained by the need to set the story firmly in place among the minutiae of history – the way in which people really lived, the dramas that affected them in real life…digging out the details that give her stories verisimilitude.
  • Robyn Wilson & Janelle Bloor, The Western Advocate – It’s a wonderful book, rich with all the romance, the passion, the hardship and the humour of early Australian life.

 

When Hope is Strong

  • Bendigo Advertiser – Here is a sweeping saga. 
  • Janet Wainwright, Sunday Times, Perth – In the tradition of Sara Dane, first-time novelist Burrows has put together a saga using the background of pioneer farmers …it is a strongly romantic novel involving love betrayal, death and hope. Maybe we will all be able to watch it on Midday television. 
  • The Australian Senior – Robyn Lee Burrows has masterfully interwoven the stories of three women in her first novel, When Hope is Strong … [it] is an involved story, full of emotion. 
  • Feyne Weaver, Gold Coast Bulletin – It is a well told, sweeping saga of life in south-east Queensland …just the thing for cold nights in a warm bed. 

 

When Wattles Bloom

  • Yvonne McLean, Gold Coast Mail – Adds to the author’s high story telling reputation … a saga of human relationships to bring a tear to many readers’ eyes, to excite them to read on … gives the reader [a] sense of history. 
  • Michael Jacobson, Gold Coast Bulletin – She [Burrows]has responded admirably … her latest work marks her graduation … the result favours Burrows and rewards her readers. 
  • Carolyn Gilpin, Who Weekly – A moving account of the horrors of war and of Hannah’s struggle to survive as a single parent…holds interest in the wait to find out why Hannah ended up married to someone else. 
  • Sue Wannan, New Weekly – A WWI love story mirrored in the affairs of Callie and a handsome stranger. 
  • New Idea – A moving extract from the book [ When Wattles Bloom ] by Gold Coast author Robyn Lee Burrows.  
  • Denise Voltz, Gold Coast Sun Newspapers – A good read … the principal characters are well defined and believable … smooth transition between the two periods takes place without any loss of continuity. 
  • The Australian Senior – A true romance with just the right mix of mystery and intrigue, and will cement Burrows’ status as one of Australia ‘s most talented fiction writers…poignant, dramatic and tragic story. 
  • Julie Redlich, Women’s Weekly – Supersaga … a very readable romance that paints a portrait of two sets of lovers. 

 

 

Non-Fiction

Henry Lawson: A Stranger on the Darling

  • Brian Matthews, author of Louisa and The Receding Wave – Henry Lawson: A Stranger on the Darling is an engaging and fascinating trek with Henry Lawson on the most important Journey of his writing life. 
  • Michael Jacobson , Gold Coast Bulletin – Henry Lawson: A Stranger on the Darling is a crisply-written work which reveals how Lawson’s time in the Australian bush transformed his perceptions … [it] is a highly readable and important text.  
  • Michael Wilding, The Weekend – It is a labour of love, a scrapbook of Bourke local history with meticulously recorded details. 
  • The Australian Senior – A fascinating new biography on Henry Lawson. 
  • Tim Thorne, The Mercury  – Part biography, part anthology, part local history … a colourful and detailed account of the place and the time. 
  • Maurice Dunlevy, Canberra Times – No Lawson fan would want to miss this book … [it] is a book for Lawson lovers, and lovers of what he stood for. And with so much of Lawson’s work in it, no fan will be disappointed. 
  • Michael Southern, Pittwater Life – This is a beautiful glimpse into a brief and fascinating period in the life of Lawson, and into the life of the Australian outback. 
  • Robert Billings, News Weekly – A first class book … worth its purchase price for the long essay on Hungerford alone. 
  • Bruce Copping, The Newcastle Herald – The authors give a raw insight into times and life of an outback too often idealised by those whose vision was coloured by comfort…I recommend it to those who have a love of the written word and a thirst to know of a man who was unafraid of truth. 
  • Fiona Capp, The Age Melbourne – A Stranger on the Darling is also an innovative approach to the writing of local history and in many ways it is as much an exploration of life on the Darling in the 1890s as it is an introduction to a little documented aspect of Lawson’s life and work.  
  • Rod Moran, West Australian – This volume is distinctive on three counts. First it is a very well-written documentary… second, in the process of researching their material the authors turned up eight of Lawson’s poems not seen in modern times… in addition… the authors allow a new appreciation of the anthropological dimension of his writing. Henry Lawson: A Stranger on the Darling will sit very well in that part of your library devoted to the Australian legend of the 90s.