The back reads:

Bridie's world is torn apart when her parents and baby brother die in the Great Hunger. SHe leaves Ireland and strikes out alone to claim a life for herslef in Australia, on the other side of the ocean.

The first of four sweeping adventures, Bridie's fire makes hisotry leap off the page. A heart-warming story of courage and resilience, it affirms Kirsty Murray's keen understanding of the human spirit.

I got it anyway :-) Picked up at the bookcrossingie meetup.
I've also taken the newspaper and the CD. Thank you!

Very depressing at the beginning. Brightens up somewhat then, but still isn't all sweetness and light.
I enjoyed when scenes were in Melbourne suburbs I've been in, though the images in my head were slightly confused - a 19th century girl walking in St Kilda alongside the rollerbladers, or shopping for 19th century goods on a busy street with a multiplex cinema. My images of Ballarat were a bit more realistic - I've been to the historical park there.

Thanks nut, what a surprise! Thank you so much for the little rubbers :)

RELEASE NOTES:

This book is going to the Northampton Green Fest www.greenfestival.org.uk and will be available there on the Freecycle/Book Crossing stall.