PAUL'S PICKS [Book Reviews of Publications by Local Authors]: "The Undertaker's Mother" by Denise Tobin Shine
PAUL'S PICKS
Book Reviews of Publications Penned by
Our Community's Local Authors
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Visit Paul Karp's Poetry Website at:
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Mentone Public Library is committed towards promoting local history and the local literary talent of the City of Kingston and surrounding municipalities of Bayside, Glen Eira and Port Phillip in the Bayside region of Melbourne Australia.
Mentone Public Library is pleased to have recruited
Paul "Percussion & Poet" Karp
to source and review the local literary pearls of publications you might be yet to discover.
Paul "Percussion & Poet" Karp
to source and review the local literary pearls of publications you might be yet to discover.
This month Paul's book review pick is by
local author:
And the book:
Denise is a local author and regular at Mentone Public Library's 'Page Turners' Writing Worksop Circle.
Her 2012 novel is much livelier than its title and sepia-toned cover suggest.
She traces her family history from her paternal grandfather,
Thomas, who emigrated from Ireland to Australia in 1889, and her
Melbourne-born grandmother, Alice. Their sons established the well-known
funeral directors, Tobin Brothers.
The novel begins with a beguiling portrait of 1889 Melbourne through 16 year old Alice's eyes.
Her view of family life growing up in South Yarra is evocative,
with descriptions of the 'Royal Botanical Gardens' and 'The Tan'
perimeter track.
'Doing the Block' was where eligible young men and women paraded on
Melbourne's Collins, Elizabeth, Flinders and Swanston Streets block
dressed in finery in search of the beau of their dreams – a courtship
equivalent to today's 'Tinder'.
I enjoyed Thomas' and his first wife Maria's accounts of their journey by sea to Australia. The exotic Middle East, unimaginable tropical heat, characters on board and friendships forged are all vividly portrayed.
Initially settling in Melbourne, they seek a better life in Western Australia during the 1890s depression where Maria tragically dies in childbirth. Bereft of a wife and carer for his young children, Thomas writes to Alice's parents to seek her hand in marriage. Initially reluctant, she accepts his offer. Her journey from Melbourne to Fremantle is engagingly written. Her tribulations of sea travel are more than offset by meeting Eliza, with whom she forms a lasting friendship, and finds valued solace and advice during confinement and child-rearing.
Richly sourced by first-hand accounts and extensive research, 'The Undertakers' Mother' offers a highly authentic glimpse of one Australian family's life and struggles over the past 130 years.
About Denise Tobin Shine
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| Denise Tobin-Shine presenting at Mentone Public Library - Saturday, 28 September 2013 |
Now in retirement, Denise Tobin Shine is a former primary school teacher and for many years owned and operated caravan parks with her husband.
During this time she wrote an Accreditation Manual and Emergency Management Plan, both of which helped to stimulate her love of research and writing.
She always enjoyed writing as a child and over the years, while attending creative writing courses, has written several short stories many of which have an historical theme.
She enjoys travelling overseas and her love of canal boats in England resulted in a published article in The Victorian Senior.
With the original concept being a small booklet to accompany a family reunion, The Undertakers’ Mother is the result of four years of intensive writing and six years research of scraping the roots of family trees, searching for hidden morsels of interest.
When time allows, Denise potters in the garden, reads and enjoys classical music. In her youth, she performed in many amateur musical productions. Denise lives in Melbourne, Australia, with Frank, her husband of 41 years. With four children and eight grandchildren under nine, for relaxation they love to escape to their boat on the Gippsland Lakes at Paynesville.
To purchase copies of "The Undertaker's Mother",
please visit Denise's website:
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