Sisters of the Southern Cross

By: Jean Grainger

Narrated by: Siobhan Waring

Queensland, Australia, 1936 Sister Claire McAuliffe has been called from Dungarvan, County Waterford, to do God’s work in Jumaaroo, Queensland. Along with four other sisters, she is charged with setting up a Catholic school for the education of the gold rush families. But life between the tropical Australian rainforest and the azure ocean is far from the spectacular paradise it seems.

Sister Claire finds life challenging in more ways than she can count—the heat, the terrifying creatures that lurk in every nook and cranny, the crocodiles and snakes—but far more worrying is the constant presence of the much-loved mayor of Jumaaroo, Joseph McGrath. Why does a person so respected give Claire such cause for concern? Is it the cruel way he speaks about the Aboriginal people who live on the mission? A closed community run by a peculiar religious leader who seems to deeply resent the arrival of the nuns?

As Claire learns of the manner in which the Bundagulgi are treated, she is forced to act, but nobody wants to upset the status quo, and a meddlesome nun suddenly is a dangerous one.

©2020 Jean Grainger (P)2023 Jean Grainger

Amazing narration

Great story! I love her, Jean Granger weaves history and story together. Siobhan Waring doe an outstanding job.

Sisters of the Southern Cross

Wonderful book, author & narrator. Jean Grainger always delivers! Now onto another one of her books.

Couldn’t stop listening

I would sit in my car, just to listen to the story! Loved it! Will look into more from this author

Wow!

What a wonderful story! Jean has done it again! You know it is a great story when you are so sad that it has ended!

Wonderful!

Wonderful, intriguing story that grabs your attention and holds it until the end. Not overly done in any way. Tastefully makes the listener think about the people she’s writing about. The narrator is impeccable. I could always tell which character was talking based on her fabulous voice acting and believable accents.

Pleasant story of courage

I enjoyed this audible book as it was lovely to listen to the Siobhan Waring narrating and the story ended will wrapped up.

Historical references

I found the story quite interesting and educational. The narrator was excellent in every way!

Spectacular story & narration

My book club picked this book and I am so glad. I wasn’t raised catholic growing up in El Paso, Texas but went to an all girls catholic school for junior high. My favorite nun was Sister Rose Claire & I so loved Sister Claire in this story. So many twists & turns and so well written. I feel that I just completed a lovely gift to myself!!

So sad it was over!

I thoroughly loved this book. Am traveling for the first time to Australia in a few months and wanted to read something to get me in the mood for the trip. It was such an excellent story and so well told. It was funny and poignant. When I heard the epilogue at the end of how the author came to write the story, I loved it even more. The narrator is also FABULOUS. I would listen to her read the phone book. Such an incredible job with voices and accents. Thank you! Looking forward to discovering more Jean Grainger books.

Felt like I was in Australia

I listened to the Audible version of this book and felt like I was transported to Australia. This book captures the issues which have finally come out in the open with the European attitudes towards native peoples and their cultures, not just in Australia, but in Canada, the USA, India, etc. yet it also stresses the common human experiences and how people can come together in adversity.