Annette Higgs on her first novel set in 19th-century Tasmania, 'On A Bright Hillside in Paradise'

Good Reading Podcast

On a Bright Hillside in Paradise, tells the story of a family of convict descendants in the back-blocks of Tasmania, on a farm in a place called Paradise. They lead hard-scrabble lives. The drama begins when strangers arrive, Christian Brethren evangelists who hold big revival meetings in local barns. On a Bright Hillside in Paradise tackles big questions of faith and family but remains grounded in the dreams and strivings of its beautifully drawn characters. Higgs takes lives that history might have judged as small and imbues them with immense dignity and complex and compelling inner lives. In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Annette Higgs about the long journey from idea to great story in a first novel, the fascinating family connection she has to the characters in the story and the social impact of the arrival of the Christian Brethren on the isolated communities of north-western Tasmania.