OBSERVER: Palace of Lost Virtue
If you think of the gold rushes of Australia, you probably picture of a hard-working bloke with a pick and shovel or an alluvial pan, searching for a glint of gold.
But there was a lot more to gold rushes than men seeking their fortune – there were also many women on the goldfields, although it’s rare to read about them.
Novelist Anthea Hodgson (pictured) has used the West Australian goldfields as the location for her new novel, the Palace of Lost Virtue, which is inspired by real characters and true historical crime.
In 1898, Marigold Harrington arrives on the goldfields. The daughter of a prospector and a proud member of the Christian Women’s Temperance Union, she dreams of rescuing women the gold rush has forgotten, those trapped in the shadows of brothels and bars.
Across town, Pansy Arlington presides over the Palace of Pleasure, her own small empire built from ruin. When Marigold arrives at her door, offering God’s forgiveness, Pansy surprises her with unexpected kindness.
The meeting leads to an unlikely friendship, but in a rough, lawless town built on greed and desire, their bond will be tested by betrayal, violence and a crime that will echo through the years.
The Palace of Lost Virtue dares to rewrite history books, giving an insight into the lives of the formidable women who lived and died on the goldfields, and is a lively tale about loyalty, forgiveness and freedom.
Author Hodgson was inspired by true events and the desire to give the real women of the gold rush a voice.
The Palace of Lost Virtue by Anthea Hodgson is published by Penguin Random House and is available at bookshops and online.
Julie Houghton