Books with author Gary Crew

There's a myth in Esperance that's been around for years, apparently going as far back as the arrival of the first Europeans. Locals think there's a huge bird, big enough to carry away adult humans . . .Blue Feather is a stunningly crafted mystery from one of Australia's most awarded writers, Gary Crew.Recurring rumours of attacks by a giant raptor lead Greg Muir to seek the truth behind the bird's existence. Is it big enough to bring down a light plane? Can it carry away human beings in its talons? Is it responsible for the mutilation of a hang-glider?A quest for a creature as fearful as it is elusive . . . Is the story of the huge bird only a myth, or is it reality? And if it is a reality, what part will it play in shaping the lives of those who search for it?'beautifully crafted novel . . . Fully satisfying' - Herald Sun

In the spring of 1891, thirteen-year-old Sam Silverthorne is left in the care of his heartless Aunt Bertha as his father, Sir Arthur Silverthorne, Ornithologist to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, sets out on an expedition to find the infamous silver bird of paradise. But when Sir Arthur disappears without a trace, Sam runs away and embarks on a journey to find him.Nothing could prepare Sam for the dangerious, violent and unpredictable world that awaits him and the search for his father quickly becomes a fight for his own life.

You ask, ‘Can the dead speak?’ I answer, ‘Is this blood that runs in my veins, or ink? I ask that you read me. I ask that you hear me. See me. Touch me. Others have, and tasted my blood …’ So writes Jack Ireland, 14 year old English-born survivor of the horrors of capture by head hunters. In Voicing the Dead, internationally-awarded author Gary Crew revisits the astonishing story of nineteenth-century teenager Jack Ireland who survived – and lived to fight back through his ‘never say die’ determination and creativity.

"By the time I was nine years old I had begun to doubt that Mama Pratchett, the woman with whom I had lived for as long as I could remember, was in fact my mother..." So begins Gary Crew's chilling fictionalized account of a "baby farmer" who, for profit, takes in unwanted children that later mysteriously disappear. Based on the facts revealed at the criminal trials of three women during the 1890s, Crew presents the story of young Sarah and her horrific realization. Sarah is the eldest child in the Pratchett family and finds herself treated more as a maid than as a daughter. She looks after her younger brothers and sisters -- all under the age of five -- cooking their meals, washing their diapers, and generally keeping them out of the way of Mama Pratchett. Mama is a stern woman and doesn't like children who are "all full of beans." She guards her family closely from the prying eyes of strangers, moving from town to town every few months. Her meager earnings as a seamstress do little to keep the children fed and clothed, and they often go to bed with rumbling tummies, their mattresses padded with old newspaper to keep out the drafts. Mama, however, always seems to have enough for her own little luxuries. Sarah is made suspicious by the sudden appearance of a new baby following one of Mama's visits to the train station. Shortly afterwards, young Robbie, only a toddler himself, falls mysteriously ill and dies while Sarah and her siblings are away on a rare outing from the house. But Robbie is not the only child of Mama Pratchett's to disappear. With the help of her friend Will, Sarah finds the courage to testify in court against Mama Pratchett on the charge of murder. In a simple and telling introduction, Gary Crew describes the social background of the late-nineteenth century that led unwed mothers to give up their babies to unscrupulous strangers. Tragically, Crew's story is derived from real events: in the 1890s, Amelia Dyer in England, Minnie Dean in New Zealand, and Frances Knorr in Australia were sentenced to death for murder, following the testimony of teenage girls.

"By the time I was nine years old I had begun to doubt that Mama Pratchett, the woman with whom I had lived for as long as I could remember, was in fact my mother..." So begins Gary Crew's chilling fictionalized account of a "baby farmer" who, for profit, takes in unwanted children that later mysteriously disappear. Based on the facts revealed at the criminal trials of three women during the 1890s, Crew presents the story of young Sarah and her horrific realization. Sarah is the eldest child in the Pratchett family and finds herself treated more as a maid than as a daughter. She looks after her younger brothers and sisters -- all under the age of five -- cooking their meals, washing their diapers, and generally keeping them out of the way of Mama Pratchett. Mama is a stern woman and doesn't like children who are "all full of beans." She guards her family closely from the prying eyes of strangers, moving from town to town every few months. Her meager earnings as a seamstress do little to keep the children fed and clothed, and they often go to bed with rumbling tummies, their mattresses padded with old newspaper to keep out the drafts. Mama, however, always seems to have enough for her own little luxuries. Sarah is made suspicious by the sudden appearance of a new baby following one of Mama's visits to the train station. Shortly afterwards, young Robbie, only a toddler himself, falls mysteriously ill and dies while Sarah and her siblings are away on a rare outing from the house. But Robbie is not the only child of Mama Pratchett's to disappear. With the help of her friend Will, Sarah finds the courage to testify in court against Mama Pratchett on the charge of murder. In a simple and telling introduction, Gary Crew describes the social background of the late-nineteenth century that led unwed mothers to give up their babies to unscrupulous strangers. Tragically, Crew's story is derived from real events: in the 1890s, Amelia Dyer in England, Minnie Dean in New Zealand, and Frances Knorr in Australia were sentenced to death for murder, following the testimony of teenage girls.