Under the golden sun A novel

Ashcroft (Meet Me in Bombay) offers an enticing story of a young Englishwoman's path toward self-discovery. Rose Hamilton is traveling by train from her home in Devon to London during WWII when she sees an advertisement seeking someone to escort a young child to Australia. Needing a change after having a miscarriage and being discharged from the air force for being unmarried and pregnant, Rose, who is engaged to a perennially noncommittal American press correspondent named Xander, answers the advertisement. Vivian Barnes needs someone to travel with her late great-niece Mabel's son, four-year-old Walter Lucknow, as Vivian is dying from cancer. Together, Rose and Walter journey by ship to Australia and travel to the cattle station that Walter has inherited, which Mabel's brother-in-law, Max, a pilot seriously wounded in the war, will hold in trust until Walter is 21. Max and his sister, Esme, however, are extremely unwelcoming. Rose's reluctance to leave Walter and return to England is complicated by an unexpected romance with Max, as well as the untimely arrival of Xander. Ashcroft enlivens the plot with an expertly crafted set of characters. For fans of WWII-era historicals, this will hit the spot. (Mar.)

The World War II era is common in historical fiction, but the Pacific theater setting of Ashcroft's (Meet Me in Bombay) novel makes the story stand out. In 1941, Rose Hamilton, a young Englishwoman, takes a job accompanying Walter, an orphaned child, from his home in England to Australia, his mother's homeland. They travel through war-threatened waters to reach their destination, a cattle station. There, Rose discovers that things are not what she was led to expect. The station, run by Max Lucknow, Walter's uncle, is a place full of unknowns and new adventures. The Lucknow family is the complicated key to Walter's long-term well-being, and perhaps Rose's happiness as well. Readers may need some time to adjust to the author's meandering, stream-of-consciousness writing. The story takes a while to build, laying background for Rose and picking up once the trip to Australia begins. Rose's relationships with Walter and her family will tug at readers' heartstrings, while her relationships with everyone else provide intrigue, frustration, hope, and joy. VERDICT Historical fiction fans will enjoy this lush, captivating saga with fascinating characters whose lives are far from ideal but are only a minute and a step away from perfect.--Riley Moreland