The Touch: A Novel
Nov 2003 · Sold by Simon and Schuster
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27 reviews
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464
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About this ebook
From the bestselling author of The Thorn Birds comes a multi-generational saga about the interlocked destinies of a Scots-Australian family and a Chinese family from the 1860s through the turn of the century.
In his native Scotland, Alexander Kinross was once dismissed as a shiftless boilermaker’s apprentice and godless rebel. But when, years later, he writes from Australia to summon his bride, his Scottish relatives quickly realize that he has made a fortune in the goldfields and is now a man to be reckoned with.
Arriving in Sydney after a difficult voyage, the sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Drummond meets her husband-to-be and discovers to her dismay that he frightens and repels her. Offered no choice, she marries him and is whisked at once across a wild, uninhabited countryside to Alexander's own town, named Kinross after himself. In the crags above it lies the world’s richest gold mine.
Isolated in Alexander’s grand home in the remote Australian wilderness, Elizabeth soon realizes how little she knows about her husband. She has no idea that Alexander is still deeply entangled with Ruby Costevan, his passionate, outspoken mistress and business partner whose son, Lee, becomes dear to Alexander.
Although Ruby loves Alexander desperately, Elizabeth does not. Elizabeth bears him two daughters: the brilliant Nell, so much like her father; and the beautiful, haunting Anna, who presents her father with a torment out of which for once he cannot buy his way. Thwarted in his desire for a son, Alexander turns to Ruby’s son as a possible heir to his empire, unaware that by keeping Lee with him, he is courting disaster.
Set against the rugged landscape of a rapidly changing Australia, The Touch is a sweeping family saga of passion, tragedy, history, and the desperate need to create new beginnings.
In his native Scotland, Alexander Kinross was once dismissed as a shiftless boilermaker’s apprentice and godless rebel. But when, years later, he writes from Australia to summon his bride, his Scottish relatives quickly realize that he has made a fortune in the goldfields and is now a man to be reckoned with.
Arriving in Sydney after a difficult voyage, the sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Drummond meets her husband-to-be and discovers to her dismay that he frightens and repels her. Offered no choice, she marries him and is whisked at once across a wild, uninhabited countryside to Alexander's own town, named Kinross after himself. In the crags above it lies the world’s richest gold mine.
Isolated in Alexander’s grand home in the remote Australian wilderness, Elizabeth soon realizes how little she knows about her husband. She has no idea that Alexander is still deeply entangled with Ruby Costevan, his passionate, outspoken mistress and business partner whose son, Lee, becomes dear to Alexander.
Although Ruby loves Alexander desperately, Elizabeth does not. Elizabeth bears him two daughters: the brilliant Nell, so much like her father; and the beautiful, haunting Anna, who presents her father with a torment out of which for once he cannot buy his way. Thwarted in his desire for a son, Alexander turns to Ruby’s son as a possible heir to his empire, unaware that by keeping Lee with him, he is courting disaster.
Set against the rugged landscape of a rapidly changing Australia, The Touch is a sweeping family saga of passion, tragedy, history, and the desperate need to create new beginnings.
From the bestselling author of The Thorn Birds comes a multi-generational saga about the interlocked destinies of a Scots-Australian family and a Chinese family from the 1860s through the turn of the century.
In his native Scotland, Alexander Kinross was once dismissed as a shiftless boilermaker...
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Ratings and reviews
27 reviews
Phyllis Ray
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December 21, 2015
Enjoyed this saga, although outcome not surprising.
Kristi Munder
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September 7, 2015
Couldn't put the book down...loved everything about it!
Vivienne Chase
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June 16, 2015
Loved this book. The history, characters and story awesome,
About the author
Colleen McCullough, a native of Australia, established the department of neurophysiology at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney before working as a researcher at Yale Medical School for ten years. She is the bestselling author of numerous novels, including The Thorn Birds, and the Carmine Delmonico mystery series. She lives with her husband on Norfolk Island in the South Pacific.
Colleen McCullough, a native of Australia, established the department of neurophysiology at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney before working as a researcher at Yale Medical School for ten years. She is the bestselling author of numerous novels, including The Thorn Birds, and the Carmine De...
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