The Harp in the South is a nostalgic and moving portrait of the eventful family life of the Darcys of Number Twelve-and-a-Half Plymouth Street in Surry Hills, a Sydney slum. There grow the bitter-sweet first and last loves of Roie Darcy, who becomes a woman too quickly amid the brothels and the razor gangs, the tenements and the sly-grog shops.
Ruth Park is a classic storyteller. In this novel she brings to life a community where, despite the odds, life is always exuberant and full of promise.

Donated to the little free library in Narrabundah, ACT. Thank you.

An interesting read, that describes the slum life in Surry Hills in Sydney in the early to mid 1900s. Bed bugs, mould, an alcoholic husband, small rooms, no privacy. Surry Hills is now a very expensive place to live and sought after, but it was a different place once.

The Harp in the South by Ruth Park is the story of the Darby family who lived at number 12 and 1/2 Plymouth Street in Surrey Hills during the 1800's The houses were run down with leaking gas and rats, also bed bugs which came out at night. People did what they could to overcome all these problems. The Darby family let 2 rooms to raise more money. However life went on and the Darcys had a son and 2 daughters. The son was snatched off the street when he was 6, and never found again. His mother searched for years but no sign of him. The story really holds you until the end, and you feel you are really with them. 9 out of 10.

Released at our Bookcrossing meet, beside Gungahlin Pond, Nicholls, ACT.
Enjoy the book :)

I enjoyed this book, which I had read a long time ago. Passed it on to a friend in Queanbeyan. I may get it back, or it may have further travels.