Human Toll

In Human Toll, Ursula (Ursie) Ewart, orphaned at a tender age, is uprooted from her cherished life in the Australian bush and sent to a new home in a nearby country town. Once adored by the station hands—Boshy, Nungi, and Queeby—Ursie now faces a stark reality where she is barely tolerated. Her only ally is Andrew (Andree), an older child navigating the same troubled household. Barbara Baynton, building on her keen observations from Bush Studies, deepens our understanding of womens experiences in the harsh landscape of Australian bush life and culture at the dawn of the 20th century. (written by Kirsty Leishman)