Joy Rhoades

Over the course of one year, Kate finds a strength and defiance she never knew she had in this fascinating debut novel

A story of survival and forbidden love, this hooks you in from the atmospheric first pages, and will have you rooting for the feisty heroine

A heart-breaking love story from a great new voice

A novel about endurance and a stubborn will to survive, it is written with passion and intensity that is hugely attractive

This sweeping epic set in rural New South Wales is about love, family and testing your mettle -- and it's compulsively readable. Just the thing for those lazy summer days

Full of moral dilemmas, brutality, and humanity, this is a terrific first novel that illuminates and unknown corner, while creating characters who can and cannot change their minds

Frances Fyfield, judging the 2018 McKitterick Prize

An easy-to-read tale of Australian rural life and family drama ... Rhoades paints a vivid picture of the Australian bush, the strict social code, snobbery and racism

Full of fine descriptions and multi-faceted characters, this is a convincing portrayal of life in 1940’s outback Australia and an engaging read

The descriptions of life on a 1940s Australian sheep station are authentic, as are all the characters that inhabit this often confronting landscape... Its honesty and truth shine through on every page, and it deserves the highest recommendation

Be immersed in the harsh, rugged romance of the Aussie bush, thanks to a wonderful new voice in literary rural fiction

A moving story ... While the subject matter of drought, mental illness, war and a battle with finances sounds like a tough read, The Woolgrower's Companion is anything but. Author Joy Rhoades is a skilful writer who draws readers in with a story that twists and turns

Her gripping debut inspired by snippets of her grandmother's life will leave you on the edge of your seat

An entertaining and compelling book ... A vivid wartime history lesson that readers of all ages will enjoy

This is the kind of romantic story you can lose yourself in… It’s an evocative tale from another era, written in simple, often lyrical prose, where the landscape is as much a part of the story as the well-drawn characters that inhabit it

A story that will make you laugh and cry and everything in between.

'A heart-breaking love story from a great new voice' Saga 
 
Australia 1945. Until now Kate Dowd has led a sheltered life on her family's sprawling sheep station but, with her father's health in decline, the management of the farm is increasingly falling to her. 
 
Kate is rising to the challenge when the arrival of two Italian POW labourers disrupts everything – especially when Kate finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Luca Canali. 
 
Then she receives devastating news. The farm is near bankrupt and the bank is set to repossess. Given just eight weeks to pay the debt, Kate is now in a race to save everything she holds dear.

Joy Rhoades

Praise for The Woolgrower’s Companion

Over the course of one year, Kate finds a strength and defiance she never knew she had in this fascinating debut novel

A story of survival and forbidden love, this hooks you in from the atmospheric first pages, and will have you rooting for the feisty heroine

A heart-breaking love story from a great new voice

Over the course of one year, Kate finds a strength and defiance she never knew she had in this fascinating debut novel

A story of survival and forbidden love, this hooks you in from the atmospheric first pages, and will have you rooting for the feisty heroine

A heart-breaking love story from a great new voice

Over the course of one year, Kate finds a strength and defiance she never knew she had in this fascinating debut novel

A story of survival and forbidden love, this hooks you in from the atmospheric first pages, and will have you rooting for the feisty heroine

A heart-breaking love story from a great new voice

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