Abstract
Southan's novel is set in the fledgling New Zealand town of Timaru and the boisterous goldfields of 1860's Victoria. One lawyer, Frank Perry, is a pillar of manly rectitude, while the other, John Hobart, is a dastardly villain. All the elements of grand adventure jostle for the reader's attention: gold robbery, shady land deals, beard-growing disguises, a father in search of a lost daughter and a hero in search of love. The heroine, the angelic Louisa Branscombe, hovers in the background but is rewarded when the hero eventually recognises his true love. The plot is tortuous, but in the end good prevails and the villains meet their nasty ends, just as they should in any Victorian melodrama.