Sisters of the Southern Cross

Written by Jean Grainger

Narrated by Siobhan Waring

Queensland, Australia, 1936 Sister Claire McAuliffe has been called from Dungarvan, County Waterford, to do God’s work in Jumaaroo, Queensland. Along with four other sisters, she is charged with setting up a Catholic school for the education of the gold rush families. But life between the tropical Australian rainforest and the azure ocean is far from the spectacular paradise it seems. Sister Claire finds life challenging in more ways than she can count - the heat, the terrifying creatures that lurk in every nook and cranny, the crocodiles and snakes - but far more worrying is the constant presence of the much-loved mayor of Jumaaroo, Joseph McGrath. Why does a person so respected give Claire such cause for concern? Is it the cruel way he speaks about the Aboriginal people who live on the mission? A closed community run by a peculiar religious leader who seems to deeply resent the arrival of the nuns? As Claire learns of the manner in which the Bundagulgi are treated, she is forced to act, but nobody wants to upset the status quo, and a meddlesome nun suddenly is a dangerous one.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Release date: Jun 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781915790750

Jean Grainger

Jean Grainger is an Irish bestselling author who specializes in contemporary as well as historical fiction. Once a tour guide for Ireland, she went on to become an English and history teacher in a secondary school for boys. The winner of the 2016 Author's Circle Historical Novel of Excellence, she currently resides with her husband and children in rural County Cork, Ireland.