Cynthia Rowe

Pennyweight Flat Cynthia Rowe

Pennyweight Flat is set during the Gold Rush in 1854 at the time of the Eureka Stockade. The story centres on Yann Sauvage, grandson of Napoleon Bonaparte, who has come to the Colony of Victoria to seek out his father, Jean-Paul Sauvage, a deserter from the French army. The element of danger for Yann is almost always present - from political enemies or the troopers, from snakes, disease, and drunken miners. All this adds to the exciting possibility of striking it rich, of being reunited with his father, of finding friendship, and, perhaps something more, with the storekeeper's daughter Clem. The energy levels of Pennyweight Flat are high. Tension and apprehension pervade the story, as well as dry humour due to the incongruous situations in which Yann often finds himself. Will he find his father? Or will the Saint-Simonians, who he believes have murdered his mother, continue to block Yann at every turn?