The Colonists

The eleventh book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country made of blood, passion, and dreams.
 
Against overwhelming odds they fought to tame a savage land, now they must fight to keep it.
 
For three tumultuous generations they had struggled to harness an alien wilderness, to lay the bold foundation for their dreams. But now, just as a radiant future beckons, they are menaced by distant powers hungry to seize what they have so bitterly won.
As the new generation comes into its own, some, like Lucy Van Buren, live drugged by lavish splendor. Others, like Michael Dean, carry on the invincible pioneer spirit. And still the newcomers arrive, burning with unbridled passions and dark desires. Men like Robert Willoughby, fleeing disgrace, headed for disaster … women like Alice Fairweather, willing to risk everything for a cause. Together, as lovers and enemies, they must battle to forge the glorious destiny that is rightfully theirs. Once outcasts, they are now The Colonists.

Vivian Stuart was a British writer and during her writing career she had more than 70 books published in Australia, USA and the UK.
Born in Berkshire in England, she spent most of her youth in Burma and India, and later lived in Hungary and Australia. At the age of thirty-five she began to write romantic fiction but soon devoted her attention to military and historical novels.
The Australians series was her most ambitious venture. Originally envisaged as a series of six books, it was extended to many more by popular demand.