Skylarking (Kate Mildenhall, Black Inc.)

Kate Mildenhall’s debut novel Skylarking is a historical novel reminiscent of Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites and Shirley Barrett’s Rush Oh!, though perhaps for a younger readership. It’s a story of love and loss, set within a small, isolated lighthouse community on the coast of mainland Australia in the 1880s. Forced together by circumstance, two young girls form a bond so intense that it can only end in tragedy. Kate, headstrong and passionate, is devoted to her more delicate friend Harriet, and the feeling is mutual. But as the pair approach womanhood, the twin catastrophes of a long separation and scorned love cause a potentially fatal rupture in the friendship. Mildenhall handles the period and its language convincingly, and Kate is a compelling narrator as she navigates the difficulties of growing up an independent woman in a society that requires something entirely different. Mildenhall is at her best when she is exploring the complex relationship between these two young women as their burgeoning sexuality begins to cause problems within their tiny community. However, the book feels a little long, the narrative lagging in places, and the close focus on the two girls is often to the detriment of other characters, who are less developed by contrast.

Angela Andrewes is a Brisbane-based freelance writer, reviewer, former bookseller and subscriptions manager for the Griffith Review

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