Love and the Platypus

SHORT LISTED 2008

SYNOPSIS

Which is the greater mystery: the breeding habits of the platypus or the workings of the human heart?

In 1883 young British naturalist William Caldwell arrives in Australia with a mission: to determine for the scientific record whether the platypus really does lay eggs. But first he must travel overland to the Burnett River in Queensland, where he intends to set up camp. On his journey he is hindered and assisted by a cast of characters, including a drunken bullocky and an inscrutable, poetical bushman. Once there, William starts his investigations and encounters the local Aboriginal people, enlisting their help and ultimately learning their tragic history. He also meets a young blind woman with many secrets of her own.

Love and the Platypus is a delightful, captivating novel that examines the obsessive nature of scientific enquiry and its environmental consequences, and the wonders of the natural world and of romantic love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicholas Drayson was born in England and has lived in Australia since 1982, where he studied zoology and a PhD in 19th century Australian natural history writing.

He is a naturalist who has worked as a journalist in the UK, Kenya and Australia, writing for publications such as the Daily Telegraph and Australian Geographic.

He is the author of two novels, Confessing a Murder, which was short-listed for The Age Book of the Year, and Love and the Platypus, which was short-listed for the 2008 ACT Book of the Year Award. He lives in Canberra.

Find more books by this author in the ACT Public Libraries.

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