2. A HINT OF DARKNESS: A brief Synopsis

Interweaving Historical & Contemporary Fiction

I thought it would make an thought-provoking combination to parallel the lives of the two women from different backgrounds & time periods.

Emmaline Gidley-King born in 1859 is well-educated and the only daughter of a wealthy family. She has one brother Thomas. Fast forward to Ellie Jamieson who is born in 1984; Ellie is well-educated comes from a middle class background and has one sister Adrienne.  

By interweaving two time periods, 19^th century & contemporary I was able to compare social & cultural issues.

At this point a brief synopsis of A Hint of Darkness will add clarity.

Emmaline and not her brother Thomas, is set to inherit the flourishing vineyard Chateau Fontenay located in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. Her future seems assured. Fate decrees otherwise. When Emmaline’s beloved Papa dies she thinks that nothing could ever exceed her pain and anguish. She is wrong.

Emmaline’s mother, Madeline, in a fit of vindictive rage casts her daughter out and into the company of distant relatives travelling to the Palmer River. En route to the gold fields the party is attacked and Emmaline escapes into the bush. She attaches herself to an Aboriginal tribe.

Where there is gold there are men, and where there are men there are brothels.

Upon her return to Cooktown Emmaline gives birth to her mixed race child in a house of ill repute. From a life of affluence and privilege she has sunk to the lowest rung on the social scale.  Emmaline records a period of her life in a series of journals.

More than a Century later Emmaline’s journals are entrusted to Ellie by her great grandmother Daisy. Ellie is pursued by her own demons. A young woman conditioned by her mother to think of herself as inferior, she uses her acerbic wit to cover her insecurity. Via the journals Ellie is privy to the disappointments, love, laughter, hopes and dreams, as well as the sordid side of life in a brothel. Yet, despite her circumstances, Emmaline’s belief in herself never waivers. Ellie realizes she isn’t bound to seek anyone’s approval, that strength, courage and love can determine a person’s destiny.