A multi-generational literary saga, Devil’s Brood blends the legendary history
of Australia’s frontier days with reflections on love, legacy and eternity.
Transported for smuggling, Mary Dawlish arrives in Van Diemen’s Land
in 1840. Escaping from captivity, she joins a gang of bushrangers. She
becomes involved with the gang leader but he is a psychopath who would
certainly have killed her had she not killed him first.
Captured after a bank raid and facing the gallows, she escapes and becomes
a star in a circus. When gold is discovered, she opens several profitable
butchers shops. Acquiring a gold mine, she becomes rich and earns the
nickname of Devil’s Bride.
Estranged daughter Vanessa (Devil’s Daughter) joins Josh Barton, her
future husband, discovering rich tin deposits along Tasmania’s west coast.
Vanessa’s granddaughter Jane, born in 1934, belongs to an ultra-secret
branch of Australia’s Secret Service, carrying out operations that earn her
the nickname of Devil’s Disciple. She becomes a best-selling novelist and
establishes a spiritual connection with her long-dead ancestor.
In 2024, surrounded by children and grandchildren (Devil’s Brood), ninetyyear-
old Jane contemplates the mystical connection linking past, present
and future in a love transcending time.