'This is the story of a love greatly tested and of the resilience of ordinary Australians sucked into a pointless war by propaganda. It's enough to turn you into a war protester.' - Australian Women's Weekly
'This is the story of a love greatly tested and of the resilience of ordinary Australians sucked into a pointless war by propaganda. It's enough to turn you into a war protester.' - Australian Women's Weekly
It's 1914 and the coal town of Lithgow is booming. Daniel Ackerman is a serious young man, a miner, a socialist and German; Francine Connolly is the bourgeois, Irish-Catholic, too-good-for-this-place daughter of one of the mine owners. When a tragic accident forces them together, this class-crossed pair fall in love despite themselves.
Before the signatures on their marriage certificate are dry, though, war erupts, and a much more terrifying obstacle confronts them. Against his principles but driven by a sense of solidarity, Daniel enlists; Francine, horrified, has no choice but to watch him go.
Thrown into a daunting new world of separation and grief, they learn things about each other they might never have known in more certain times - hard lessons about heroism, sacrifice, and the thin line between bravery and stupidity.
Told with freshness, verve and wit, Black Diamonds is the tale of a fierce young nation, Australia, and two fierce hearts who dare to discover what courage really means.
“'colourful, evocative and energetic' - Sydney Morning Herald 'impressive research' - Daily Telegraph 'Why can't more people write like this?' - The Age 'Kim Kelly seems to understand the sounds and scents of the country ...' - West Australian 'engaging, entertaining' - Books+Publishing 'Story-telling is clearly encoded in her DNA...' - Writerful Books '...her skill with language makes for a glorious and engaging journey...' - Newtown Review of Books”
'colourful, evocative and energetic' - Sydney Morning Herald
'impressive research' - Daily Telegraph
'Why can't more people write like this?' - The Age
'Kim Kelly seems to understand the sounds and scents of the country ...' - West Australian
'engaging, entertaining' - Books+Publishing
'Story-telling is clearly encoded in her DNA...' - Writerful Books
'...her skill with language makes for a glorious and engaging journey...' - Newtown Review of Books
Kim Kelly is the author of six novels exploring Australia and its history. Her stories shine a bright light on some forgotten corners of the past and tell the tales of ordinary people living through extraordinary times. An editor and literary consultant by trade, stories fill her everyday - most nights, too - and it's love that fuels her intellectual engine. In fact, Kim takes love so seriously she once donated a kidney to her husband to prove it, and also to save his life. Originally from Sydney, today Kim lives on a small rural property in central New South Wales just outside the tiny gold-rush village of Millthorpe, where her grown sons regularly come home to graze. 'colourful, evocative and energetic' - Sydney Morning Herald 'impressive research' - Daily Telegraph 'Why can't more people write like this?' - Canberra Times
'This is the story of a love greatly tested and of the resilience of ordinary Australians sucked into a pointless war by propaganda. It's enough to turn you into a war protester.' - Australian Women's Weekly It's 1914 and the coal town of Lithgow is booming. Daniel Ackerman is a serious young man, a miner, a socialist and German; Francine Connolly is the bourgeois, Irish-Catholic, too-good-for-this-place daughter of one of the mine owners. When a tragic accident forces them together, this class-crossed pair fall in love despite themselves. Before the signatures on their marriage certificate are dry, though, war erupts, and a much more terrifying obstacle confronts them. Against his principles but driven by a sense of solidarity, Daniel enlists; Francine, horrified, has no choice but to watch him go. Thrown into a daunting new world of separation and grief, they learn things about each other they might never have known in more certain times - hard lessons about heroism, sacrifice, and the thin line between bravery and stupidity. Told with freshness, verve and wit, Black Diamonds is the tale of a fierce young nation, Australia, and two fierce hearts who dare to discover what courage really means.
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