Colours of Gold by Kaye Dobbie. Annie an Art Restorer in Melbourne finds a painting in a cellar of two young girls. The book goes back to 1867 when a Paddle steamer captain found a girl half drowned in the Murray River, his wife named her Alice. Alice had a gift of seeing an aura around people. Eventually she runs away to the Goldfields with her friend Rosie, but there is always a man in a dark coat. Annie the Art Restorer is determined to find out more, but always sees the same man in the dark coat. A very good read. Hells Trail, a thesis written by John Williams in 1972 about the Irish Convicts and Van Diemens Land, was of historical interest. Mary Celeste the American Merchant ship discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic. A Canadian brigantine found her in a dishevelled condition under partial sail with the lifeboat missing. One of those mysteries worth having a look at. The Legend and the Life of Coco Chanel, great pictures, sex and excitement, this book had it all. A beautiful picture book of Queen Mary’s Doll House, complete with miniature furnishings, this is on display at Buckingham Palace. There were a few crime novels and a couple of books `not worth reading’. So sit by the fire and read and have a lot to talk about in August.
Geraldine McCorkell