From the critically-acclaimed historical novelist Rose Tremain comes the The Colour
Newlyweds Joseph and Harriet Blackstone emigrate from England to New Zealand, along with Joseph's mother Lilian, in search of new beginnings and prosperity. But the harsh land near Christchurch where they settle threatens to destroy them almost before they begin. When Joseph finds gold in a creek bed, he hides the discovery from both his wife and mother, and becomes obsessed with the riches awaiting him deep in the earth. Abandoning his farm and family, he sets off alone for the new goldfields over the Southern Alps, a moral wilderness where many others, under the seductive dreams of the "colour," rush to their destinies and doom.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Tremain's protagonists are Harriet and Joseph Baxter, who (along with Joseph's mother) leave England for the promise of the new world that New Zealand represents. Needless to say, their relocation comes with many attendant (and nigh-insoluble) problems. But their struggle against the land continues apace until Joseph discovers gold in a nearby creek and ill-advisedly conceals the find from his mother and his wife. Gold fever takes an all-consuming grip upon him, and he leaves the family-owned farm to traverse the gold fields of the Southern Alps. There he will find a strange fate: one that affects those he has left behind as well as him.
As a study of human nature in extremis, this could well be Tremain’s most impressive book. Lacking the elegant stylishness of Restoration, The Colour grants us a fastidiously rendered picture of life lived at the sharp edge. And while her characters are confronted with terrifying decisions that few of us are ever likely to encounter, Tremain’s narrative gifts make it easy to identify with the decisions (both wise and catastrophic) that her characters take. The sense of period is forcefully conveyed, and while this is not as ingratiating a read as such earlier Tremain books as The Swimming Pool Season, her new level of ambition makes it perhaps the author’s most important book yet. --Barry Forshaw
"Exhilarating...splendidly eventful...the story swells." --The New York Times
"Every bit as enthralling as any of her previous work...The Colour is a beautifully written novel that teems with life on every page." --The Boston Globe
"Writing at the top of her form. . .With its combination of vivid historical adventure and sensual, late-blooming romance, it's hard to see how this novel can miss winning a new audience for the immensely talented Tremain." --Publishers Weekly (starred)
"Fully rounded human beings and a nimble prose style... Peerless imagination." --Newsday
"[A] gripping pioneer story...The result is a page-turner that's also a work of startling beauty." --Kirkus Reviews (starred)
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. Seller Inventory # 0312423101-2-1
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0312423101-new
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. The Colour 1.15. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780312423100
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2215580107748
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0312423101
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9780312423100
Book Description Condition: New. . Seller Inventory # 52GZZZ00Y7MA_ns
Book Description PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # IQ-9780312423100
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0312423101