Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2014
288 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
It is 1921. In a mountain-locked valley, Jessie is on the run.
Born wild and brave, by twenty-six she has already lived life as a circus rider, horse and cattle rustler, and convict. But on this fateful night she is just a woman wanting to survive though there is barely any life left in her.
Two men crash through the bushland, desperate to claim the reward on her head: one her lover, the other the law.
But as it has always been for Jessie, it is death, not a man, who is her closest pursuer and companion. And while all odds are stacked against her, there is one who will never give up on her—her own child, who awaits her.
"Collins's poetic language and salty dialogue tell the story of a woman whose life is inextricable from the bleak landscape she not only traverses but also inhabits." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. A fast-paced, heart-wrenching story that never loses speed, this extraordinary first novel is not to be missed." - Library Journal
"The dead have tales to tell, if only we could hear them... Collins richly evokes a heartbreaking emotional terrain, setting it against the sparse, brutal landscape of the Australian Outback." - Kirkus
"[A] page-turner... Jessie, the heroine of this tale set in 1920s Australia, sets her own compass. A horse thief and sometime circus performer, she's being pursued through the hills by her Aboriginal lover and a police sergeant. The chase will leave you breathless." - Good Housekeeping
"This extraordinary novel - propelled by the dark, rich talents of a truly brilliant writer - dazzles, staggers and amazes." - Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love
"A captivating, epic novel that never loses its heart to scope, The Untold is a surreal saga set in a rugged, unforgiving landscape. Courtney Collins paints a devastating portrait of long-shot love." - Patrick DeWitt, author of the #1 International bestseller, The Sisters Brothers (short-listed for The Man Booker Prize)
This information about The Untold was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Courtney Collins lives on the Goulburn River in regional Victoria, Australia. The Untold is her first novel, and she is currently at work on her second novel.
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