When Merryn O'Neill's fiance, Jake Hawkins, an officer with the Pacific Islands Regiment in Port Moresby, breaks off their engagement, so he can marry the daughter of his commanding officer, her world is torn apart. Arriving reluctantly in Port Moresby to take up a prearranged flying position, Merryn doesn't envisage the magical spell this strange and seductive land, particularly one of its own people, will cast over her. But Merryn and Jake share a secret from the past Merryn can't forget. No matter how much she tries. Set during the period of the Vietnam War, against a backdrop of evocative tropical heat, menace, and intrigue, Bird of Paradise explores the tangled emotions of love, loss, and betrayal, climaxing in dramatic and unexpected consequences.
It's always hot in Australia. And you can ride your horses to school and tie them up under a gumtree,' my mother told us with a knowing smile, as we stared at her in awe. Gathered on a cold, misty morning in their Georgian mansion on the shores of Lough Derg in depressed 1950s' Ireland, with debts mounting, this seemed like a dream for the prominent Esmonde family, including the teller of this captivating memoir, then seven-year-old, Rosemary. Hardship awaits down under, but Rosemary and her family bravely fight back, seizing every opportunity and experience with courage and humour. Rosemary's remarkable story has many twists and turns as she moves from Tipperary to remote rural New South Wales, post war Canberra, as a young bride to Papua New Guinea, apple orcharding and setting up a successful business in Tasmania and sailing the Mediterranean (where she and her husband, Rob are compiling their fifth photographic coffee table book on sailing, seafood and wine). Come with her as we meet her illustrious ancestors (including two Victoria Cross recipients), encounter exotic countries and fascinating people, always living her life to the brim.
It's always hot in Australia. And you can ride your horses to school and tie them up under a gumtree,' my mother told us with a knowing smile, as we stared at her in awe. Gathered on a cold, misty morning in their Georgian mansion on the shores of Lough Derg in depressed 1950s' Ireland, with debts mounting, this seemed like a dream for the prominent Esmonde family, including the teller of this captivating memoir, then seven-year-old, Rosemary. Hardship awaits down under, but Rosemary and her family bravely fight back, seizing every opportunity and experience with courage and humour. Rosemary's remarkable story has many twists and turns as she moves from Tipperary to remote rural New South Wales, post war Canberra, as a young bride to Papua New Guinea, apple orcharding and setting up a successful business in Tasmania and sailing the Mediterranean (where she and her husband, Rob are compiling their fifth photographic coffee table book on sailing, seafood and wine). Come with her as we meet her illustrious ancestors (including two Victoria Cross recipients), encounter exotic countries and fascinating people, always living her life to the brim.
When Merryn O'Neill's fiance, Jake Hawkins, an officer with the Pacific Islands Regiment in Port Moresby, breaks off their engagement, so he can marry the daughter of his commanding officer, her world is torn apart. Arriving reluctantly in Port Moresby to take up a prearranged flying position, Merryn doesn't envisage the magical spell this strange and seductive land, particularly one of its own people, will cast over her. But Merryn and Jake share a secret from the past Merryn can't forget. No matter how much she tries. Set during the period of the Vietnam War, against a backdrop of evocative tropical heat, menace, and intrigue, Bird of Paradise explores the tangled emotions of love, loss, and betrayal, climaxing in dramatic and unexpected consequences.
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