Kings in Grass Castles

By: Mary Durack

Narrated by: Jenny Seedsman

When Patrick Durack left Ireland for Australia in 1853, he was to found a dynasty of pioneers, and build an empire of cattle-land across the great stretches of Australia. His grand-daughter, Mary Durack, with a profound sense of family history, has rebuilt the saga of the Duracks, a saga that is the story of Australia itself, huge, pioneering, and tremendous in concept.©1959 Patsy Millet, Marie Rose Megaw and John Christopher Miller (P)1996 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"One of the greatest biographies of an Australian pioneering family ever written." (The North Australian Monthly)

Reader Cannot Salvage Poorly written story

The reader was professional and made a seriously sentimental and overwritten story at least endurable. But I cannot recommend this Audiobook, which I stuck with to the end, because the writing is in serious need aggressive editing and a sorting out of fact from fiction. I have written a review for the book, which I read in tandem with the Audiobook, on Amazon and Goodreads.

disappointing

I wanted to read this story because I had visited the Durack homestead at the Ord River in the Kimberley Western Australia and because I recently met a young man who is a descendant of the Durack family. They were a remarkable Irish pioneer family. However, this particular account is sadly dreadfully tedious and boring. It covers far too much detail like a family diary.

Much of the detail is not really required to provide a good account of the family sage. Too many suppositions are made to interpret the early Durack's thoughts.
This in the only audible book I have found boring. I was determined to listen to the end but it never improved. I hope that someone with writing skill can redo this particular story and concentrate on a shorter span of their saga. It would be a tale worth writing in a more entertaining and readable style by a talented writer.