The Philosopher's Daughter by Alison Booth
A tale of two very different sisters whose 1890s voyage from London into remote outback Australia becomes a journey of self-discovery, set against a landscape of wild beauty and savage dispossession.
London in 1891: Harriet Cameron is a talented young artist whose mother died when she was barely five. She and her beloved sister Sarah were brought up by their father, radical thinker James Cameron. After adventurer Henry Vincent arrives on the scene, the sisters' lives are changed forever. Sarah, the beauty of the family, marries Henry and embarks on a voyage to Australia. Harriet, intensely missing Sarah, must decide whether to help her father with his life's work or devote herself to painting.
When James Cameron dies unexpectedly, Harriet is overwhelmed by grief. Seeking distraction, she follows Sarah to Australia, and afterwards into the Northern Territory outback, where she is alienated by the casual violence and great injustices of outback life.
Her rejuvenation begins with her friendship with an Aboriginal stockman and her growing love for the landscape. But this fragile happiness is soon threatened by murders at a nearby cattle station and by a menacing station hand seeking revenge.
About the Author
Born in Melbourne and brought up in Sydney, Alison spent over two decades studying, living and working in the UK before returning to Australia some fifteen years ago.
Her ancestors came to Australia from England and Scotland at the end of the 1800s, before Federation in 1901. Indeed, in 1891, when the novel starts, 32% of the Australian population were born overseas, mostly in the UK. Alison grew up fascinated by the thought that Australia once comprised small colonies, teetering on the edge of the vast continent, and wanted in this new novel to travel back in time to view it through the eyes of two strong young women. The tales of Alison’s late father, Norman Booth, about his years in the Northern Territory also awakened her interest in the Northern Territory.
Her debut novel, Stillwater Creek, was Highly Commended in the 2011 ACT Book of the Year Award, and afterwards published in Reader’s Digest Select Editions in Asia and in Europe. Alison’s other novels are The Indigo Sky (2011), A Distant Land (2012), and A Perfect Marriage (2018).
Alison is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the Australian National University. In November 2019, Alison was made Fellow of the Econometric Society, a prestigious international society for the advancement of economic theory in its relation to statistics and mathematics.
Review
On the face of it this is a simple story of two sisters lives and their bond. However, it tackles inequality between the sexes, the issue of racism during the 19th century in Australia, independence of spirit and the strength of love. The longer I think about this book the more I grow to appreciate its prose and multi-layered approach towards a historical novel.
The narrative was pretty simple in its construct - two sisters, one who marries and goes on honeymoon to Asutralia, the other fiercely independent and then follows her sister across the world. Both are extremely intelligent and through being in the bush discover their own separate identities and the strength of character behind them. I love how both of the sisters adopt the Aboriginal locals and provide them with shelter and acceptance.
The novel conveys the spirit of hope right until the last page, the thought that society can co-exist peacefully in all areas and that race, class, and societal expectations are no longer boundaries or obstacles in this world. In the world today, one that become more fractured and isolated every day we need novels like this - basically they give us hope and love.
