A Waltz for Matilda (The Matilda Saga, #1) cover art

A Waltz for Matilda (The Matilda Saga, #1)

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About this listen

 The story behind Banjo Paterson's iconic Australian song.

'Once a jolly swagman camped by a Billabong
Under the shade of a Coolibah tree
And he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me...'

In 1894, twelve-year-old Matilda flees the city slums to find her unknown father and his farm. But drought grips the land, and the shearers are on strike. Her father has turned swaggie and he's wanted by the troopers. In front of his terrified daughter, he makes a stand against them, defiant to the last. 'You'll never catch me alive, said he...'

Set against a backdrop of bushfire, flood, war and jubilation, this is the story of one girl's journey towards independence. It is also the story of others who had no vote and very little but their dreams.

Drawing on the well-known poem by A.B. Paterson and from events rooted in actual history, this is the untold story behind Australia's early years as an emerging nation.


PRAISE

'Jackie French has a passion for history, and an enviable ability to weave the fascinating minutiae of everyday life into a good story.' -- Magpies Magazine

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I have now finish all 9 books in this series and loved them all, apart from the last one, which I reviewed separately. Highly recommend the series, but will stop at the end of book 7 if I read it again.

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A young girl’s world is turned upside down more than once in this story but she is a survivor, older than her years. Based around late 1800s and early 1900s, a period of radical change, the book deals with the attitudes of native Australians and their British bosses, based around historical facts but with fictional characters. Highly recommended.

Strong female lead in Australian slums and outback.

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