By Phillippa Gregory

NY. Touchstone. 2004. 512p.

"The Queen's Fool" is a historical fiction novel by Philippa Gregory, first published in 2003. The book is set in England in the 16th century, during the reigns of King Henry VIII and Queen Mary I, and tells the story of a young girl named Hannah Green who becomes a servant in the royal court.

Hannah is a gifted "fool," a type of entertainer who uses jokes and acrobatics to amuse the court. She catches the eye of Queen Mary, who takes her under her wing and makes her a trusted confidante. But as Hannah gets caught up in the political machinations of the court, she must navigate dangerous alliances and protect herself from those who would do her harm.

"The Queen's Fool" is a well-researched and engaging work of historical fiction that offers a window into the complex and turbulent world of Tudor England. Gregory's prose is vivid and evocative, and her characters are richly drawn and memorable. The book offers a fresh perspective on well-known historical figures, such as King Henry VIII and Queen Mary I, and provides a compelling glimpse into the lives of the ordinary people who served them.

By D. H. Lawrence

Kangaroo is D. H. Lawrence's eighth novel, set in Australia. He wrote the first draft in just forty-five days while living south of Sydney, in 1922, and revised it three months later in New Mexico. The descriptions of the country are vivid and sympathetic and the book fuses lightly disguised autobiography with an exploration of political ideas at an immensely personal level. Based on a collation of the manuscript, typescripts and first editions, this text of Kangaroo is closest to what Lawrence would have expected to see in print. There is a full textual apparatus of variants, a comprehensive introduction giving the background and history of composition and publication and a summary of contemporary reviewers' opinions. Explanatory notes elucidate the many geographical, political and literary allusions in the text; there are three maps and an appendix detailing Australian locations.

London. Thomas Seltzer Inc. 1923. 367p.

By Jackie French

This is a love song to our nation, told in a single sweeping story

Jed Kelly has finally persuaded her great aunt Nancy to tell the story of her grandparents. The tale that unfolds is one of Australia's greatest romances - that of Clancy of the Overflow, who gave up everything for Rose, the woman he adored, and yet still gained all he'd lost and more.

But Nancy's story is not the history that Jed expects. More tales lurk behind the folklore that surrounds Clancy - the stories of the women hidden in Australia's long history, who forged a nation and whose voices need to be heard.

It is also a story of many kinds of love. Clancy's growing passion for the bush, immortalised in Paterson's poem, which speaks to him in the ripple of the river and the song of the stars, and Nancy's need to pass on her deep understanding of her country.

But perhaps the most moving love story of all is the one that never happened, between Matilda O'Halloran and Clancy of the Overflow. And as Jed brings all of these stories to life in her book, Matilda and Clancy will once again waltz beside the river and the forgotten will be given a new voice.

Australia. Harper Collins Australia. 2019. 446p.