The Boy With Blue Trousers

The Boy With Blue Trousers by Carol Jones. Head of Zeus, 2019. 432 pages. ****

It's 1856, on the Pearl River Delta in China, and Little Cat is tired of picking leaves for the ungrateful silk worms. She'd rather be "trading punches with her brother, listening to gossip in the girls' house or daydreaming under the nammu trees." Each member of her family has a role to play and a job to do to keep the family silk business and the family fed. Little Cat and her twin Second Brother were friends with Young Wu, the son of the wealthy landowner, who held their future in his hands. Second Brother decides the only way to acquire more land for his family is to travel to New Gold Mountain in Australia and prospect for gold. Much to the chagrin of Little Cat, Second Brother gains the support of the Mo elders who guarantee money for his passage. Little Cat finds herself in the position of having to flee her hometown and pleads with Second Brother to take her with him.

It's 1856, in Robetown, South Australia, and Violet Hartley is governess to the children of a wealthy family. Violet has fled from her home to South Australia under questionable circumstances. She's young, beautiful, and on the lookout for a wealthy husband. When one of the children in her charge dies and she is dismissed from her position without references or money, she begs to accompany two hundred Celestials on a perilous journey to the goldfields.

Carol Jones has written an historical fiction novel about the hardships of survival in the mid 1850s in China and South Australia. Women were at the mercy of the men in their family and marriages were arranged more for acquiring wealth and stability than for love. Little Cat and Violet's paths cross on their journey to the goldfields and their lives will never be the same. I thoroughly enjoyed this harrowing tale and look forward to more from Jones.

Discussion questions available https://caroljonesauthor.com

I received an ecopy for a review and to participate in a blog tour.

Carol Jones was born in Brisbane, Australia, but has lived most of her life in Melbourne. She has taught English and Drama in secondary schools before working as an editor of children's magazines. Jones has been a full-time author since 1999. The Concubine's Child is her first novel for adults.

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