Téa Cooper - Free Library Land Online - History

Matilda's Freedom

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:45:11 +0200

An unconventional woman clashes with colonial society in this spicy and sweet Australian-set historical romance.

His carefree bachelor days over, Christopher Matcham returns to Sydney to take responsibility for his mother, two stepsisters, and the family property. Fortune smiles on him when he is introduced to Matilda Sweet, a woman in need of work. Though unusual, Christopher senses that her fresh ideals and positive outlook can only benefit his sisters, so he hires her as a companion.

By the time they arrive at Christopher’s family home, the two are fast friends. But Matilda’s unorthodox ways and her convict heritage make her a second class citizen to the family. Christopher has responsibilities, and they include an advantageous match. A breeches-wearing, fish-pond-swimming, plain-talking convict’s daughter will never figure in. After all, romance is a luxury the upper classes cannot afford…

The House on Boundary Street

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 10:37:11 +0300

From a bestselling Australian author comes a tale of double-dealing, adventure and the dark underbelly of 1920s Sydney...

In the aftermath of World War I, Sydney is no place for the fainthearted. Sly grog shops thrive, the cocaine trade flourishes and brothels abound. Into this big dark city comes fresh-faced country girl, Dolly Bowman, ready to risk everything in pursuit of her dreams. After all it's the 1920s - time to turn her back on her terrible childhood and search for her future.

Cynthia Burton's life changes irrevocably the day she steps over the threshold of the house on Boundary Street. Determined to survive the only way she can, she breaks into the world of money and matinee idols in order to fulfil¬ a promise she made-and now there's no going back.

As Dolly and Cynthia lives entangle they find themselves drawn into a far-reaching web of lies, intrigue and double dealing. Could it be that the house on Boundary Street, once...

The Naturalist's Daughter

Wed, 15 Nov 2017 14:56:58 +0200

A woman's bungled act of kindness sparks a chain of events that reverberates through the generations uncovering secrets, lies and the biggest scientific controversy of the nineteenth century, the classification of the platypus. Two women, a century apart, are drawn into a mystery surrounding the biggest scientific controversy of the nineteenth century, the classification of the platypus. 1808 Agnes Banks, NSW Rose Winton wants nothing more than to work with her father, eminent naturalist Charles Winton, on his groundbreaking study of the platypus. Not only does she love him with all her heart, but the discoveries they have made could turn the scientific world on its head. When Charles is unable to make the long sea journey to present his findings to the prestigious Royal Society in England, Rose must venture forth in his stead. What she discovers there will change the lives of future generations.

1908 Sydney, NSW Tamsin Alleyn has been given a mission: travel to the Hunter Valley and retrieve an old sketchbook of debateable value, gifted to the Mitchell Library by a recluse. But when she gets there, she finds there is more to the book than meets the eye, and more than one interested party. Shaw Everdene, a young antiquarian bookseller and lawyer, seems to have his own agenda when it comes to the book but Tamsin decides to work with him to try and discover the book's true provenance. The deeper they delve, the more intricate the mystery becomes. As the lives of two women a century apart converge, discoveries rise up from the past and reach into the future, with irrevocable consequences… **

The Talented Mrs Greenway

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 09:26:37 +0200

From a bestselling Australian author, this compellingly realised novel brings to life the story of an enigmatic figure, wife to feted colonial architect Francis Greenway, and asks, whose hand really shaped Sydney? Who is the talented Mrs Greenway?

1814 Sydney When Mary Greenway, freshly arrived from the old country, steps into the maelstrom of Sydney Town with three children at her skirts, she has high hopes of a new beginning, despite having little money and a husband in irons. After all, the sudden death of her sadistic first husband has meant freedom from her gilded cage and Francis Greenway is an architect of some promise, under the protection of Admiral Phillip himself.

Mary herself is a woman of great resources and an even greater creative passion, a passion that will surely burn through anything that the filthy, burgeoning, vitality of colonial Sydney can throw at her. Soon ensconced in a tiny cottage in George Street, Mary sets about...

The Cartographer's Secret

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 14:10:22 +0200

A young woman's quest to heal a family rift entangles her in one of Australia's greatest historical puzzles when an intricately illustrated map offers a clue to the fate of a long-lost girl. A mesmerising historical mystery set in the Hunter Valley from bestselling author Tea Cooper for readers of Natasha Lester and Kate Morton.

The Woman In the Green Dress

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 14:00:03 +0200

For readers who loved Remarkable Creatures, The Naturalist's Daughter and The Birdman's Wife comes The Woman in the Green Dress... 1853 Mogo Creek, NSWDella Atterton, bereft at the loss of her parents, is holed up in the place she loves best: the beautiful Hawkesbury in New South Wales. Happiest following the trade her father taught her, taxidermy, Della has no wish to return to Sydney. But the unexpected arrival of Captain Stefan von Richter on a quest to retrieve what could be Australia's first opal, precipitates Della's return to Sydney and her Curio Shop of Wonders, where she discovers her enigmatic aunt, Cordelia, is selling more than curiosities to collectors. Strange things are afoot and Della, a fly in a spider's web, is caught up in events with unimaginable consequences...1919 Sydney, NSWWhen London teashop waitress Fleur Richards inherits land and wealth in Australia from her husband, Hugh, killed in the...

The Fossil Hunter

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 17:01:03 +0300

The Butterfly Collector

Sat, 17 Dec 2022 14:10:56 +0200

What connects a botanical illustration of a butterfly with a missing baby and an enigma fifty years in the making? A twisty historical mystery from a bestselling Australian author.

1868 Morpeth Theodora Breckenridge, still in mourning after the loss of her parents and brother at sea, is more interested in working quietly on her art at the family's country estate than she is finding a husband in Sydney society, even if her elder sister Florence has other ideas. Theodora seeks to emulate prestigious nature illustrators, the Scott sisters, who lived nearby, so she cannot believe her luck when she discovers a butterfly never before sighted in Australia. With the help of Clarrie, her maid, and her beautiful illustrations, she is poised to make a natural science discovery that will put her name on the map. Then Clarrie's new-born son goes missing and everything changes.

1922 Sydney When would-be correspondent Verity Binks is sent an...

Jazz Baby

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 14:20:40 +0200

In the gritty underbelly of 1920s Sydney, a fresh-faced country girl is about to arrive in the big, dark city – and risk everything in the pursuit of her dreams. Sydney is no place for the fainthearted – five shillings for a twist of snow, a woman for not much more, and a bullet if you look sideways at the wrong person.Dolly Bowman is ready and willing to take on all the brash, bustling city has to offer. After all it is the 1920s, a time for a girl to become a woman and fulfil her dreams. Turning her back on her childhood, she takes up a position working as a housemaid while she searches for her future.World War I flying ace Jack Dalton knows he's luckier than most. He's survived the war with barely a scratch, a couple of astute business decisions have paid off, and he's set for the high life.But a glimpse of a girl that he had forgotten, from a place he's tried to escape suddenly sets all his plans awry. Try as he might he can't shake the past,...

Forgotten Fragrance

Sat, 21 Nov 1992 14:20:39 +0200

Only one woman can confirm his innocence, and release him from the torments of his past.Determined to throw off the shackles of her convict past, Charlotte Oliver accepts her employer's marriage proposal, even though she does not love him, and together they board a refitted whaling schooner bound for Sydney to begin their new life.But life has a way of disrupting plans, and during the voyage the Zephyrus undergoes a mutiny. Captain Christian Charity loses his ship, but he also risks losing so much more.Charlotte has in her possession a tiny blue bottle and an Angel coin. On their own, they mean nothing more than a keepsake, but to Christian, they could mean everything – a past remade and a future with love.

The Girl In the Painting

Sat, 05 Jan 2019 18:37:38 +0200

For readers of the The True Story of Maddie Bright, The Woman in the Green Dress and The Birdman's Wife comes this atmospheric and richly detailed Australian historical mystery from a bestselling Australian author.

Maitland 1913 Miss Elizabeth Quinn is something of an institution in Maitland Town. For longer than anyone could remember she and her brother, businessman Michael, have lived in the impressive two-storey stone house next to the church. When she is discovered cowering in the corner of the exhibition gallery at the Technical College the entire town knows something strange has come to pass.

Was it the prehistoric remains or perhaps the taxidermy exhibition that had reduced the whale-boned encased pillar of society to a quivering mess? Or is there something odd about a striking painting on loan from the National Gallery?

Mathematical savant Jane Piper is determined to find out. Deposited on the doorstep of the local orphanage...

The Cedar Cutter

Wed, 21 Nov 2001 16:47:18 +0200

From the bestselling author of The Horse Thief comes a historical story of love, intrigue and danger in the majestic cedar forests of the Hunter Valley.Even if time heals all wounds, you still bear the scars...Wollombi: 1855. When Roisin Ogilvie moves to Wollombi her thoughts are only of protecting her illegitimate son, Ruan, from the grasps of his powerful and dangerous father. Posing as an impoverished widow, she settles into a quiet existence as a local dressmaker. She doesn't expect to catch the attention of Irish champion cedar cutter Carrick O'Connor, or any other man for that matter.Carrick O'Connor may have won the coveted Wollombi Wood Chop, but his mind is on the beautiful seamstress and her son. Or rather, on who they remind him of. Determined to exact revenge for the horrors of his past, Carrick plans to return to Ireland to seek revenge on the land agent who was responsible for the death of his wife and child, and his...

Lily's Leap

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 14:20:39 +0200

To the victor go the spoils. Born into privileged society, Lilibeth Dungarven finds herself married, widowed, and much to her distress, back under her father's rule, all before her twenty-first birthday. But this feisty and independent young woman has a dream: she is determined to breed the perfect racehorse and restore the family's flagging fortunes. An accomplished rider, she takes matters into her own hands and sets out to restore the Dungarven horse farm to its former glory. When the devastatingly attractive Captain Tom and his mismatched band of bushrangers stumble across a mob of the best horses they've ever seen, and the daughter of the famed Dungarven horse farm, they know their fortunes have changed. Their catch is worth a king's ransom. Surely it can't be too difficult to contain this beautiful young woman with violet eyes and skin-tight riding breeches for seven days?A Lyrical Press Historical Romance

The Protea Boys

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 16:47:17 +0200

Emotional entanglement is not on Georgie Martin's to do list. She has turned her back on her sophisticated Sydney lifestyle, determined to renovate her parents old flower farm and her shattered ego. However, the challenges prove more than she bargained for until a madcap scheme comes to fruition and the Protea Boys are born. The team of efficient, well-tapered six-packs solve her farming problems, but their leader presents a different kind of challenge—their first spark of attraction ignites a passion she cannot ignore. Tom Morgan likes his women "pretty and entertaining," not "efficient and driven," but the threat of being co-opted as a wine waiter or worse, chef in his brother's restaurant encourages him to take up what he sees as the highly amusing challenge of managing the Protea Boys. It is the perfect distraction while he waits for a new assignment—or so he thinks until he realizes he has found the one woman he cannot run away from.