South of Darkness (John Marsden, Macmillan)

South of Darkness is John Marsden’s first novel for an adult audience, set in London in the late 1700s. Barnaby Fletch has no memory of his parents. For as long as he can remember, he’s lived on the streets of East Smithfield, known to its residents simply as ‘Hell’. He sleeps on the streets or hidden in a church, where the story of Job strikes a special chord with him. He gets by in the crowded city through small jobs or petty thefts, until one day he angers the wrong man. Barnaby can see no way out until an ex-convict tells him about life in New South Wales, and Barnaby resolves to be transported. This is a thoroughly Dickensian yarn, replete with memorable characters and improbable coincidences, and Marsden brings us the colour and chaos of late-Georgian London before shifting to the hard life aboard a convict transport, and finally the new world of the colony. Told as a memoir, Barnaby’s first-person narration drives the story, his moral instincts conflicting with the actions he takes to survive. The novel covers Barnaby’s childhood and his first few months in Australia; a sequel is sure to follow. This is recommended for fans of tall tales.

Heath Graham is a teacher and former bookseller