Hello, everyone!
This has been a little project that brewed after the end of Season 3 of Bridgerton was released, around late June up to July.
I thought to myself, "NoirRose21, why don't you write a story set in Victorian Australia with the Gold Rush as a small mention with a family being the centrepiece of the story, like the Bridgertons of Regency England!"
I'm Australian, and as part of my education, I had to learn about the Australian Gold Rush and bushrangers such as Ned Kelly and how cities like Ballarat were notable because of the gold rush industry. I even visited Sovereign Hill, which is an outdoor museum about life during the Victorian era and Gold Rush of Australian history, with horse-drawn carriages, and you can pan for gold. I recommend you check it out and be sure to wear joggers (sneakers/walking shoes).
And so came my dearest creations, the Montague family and all the people that rotate in and out of their lives.
This also coincides with my latest project of doing my family history and discovering some stuff about me I didn't know (like I'm Western European and Australian on my mother's side, and fully British and Aussie on my dad's side! and I'm still learning a lot!)
The Montagues are a fictional family who settled in Australia in 1829, but have been a pastoralist (wool farmer) family since more British people began settling in Australia.
The Montagues are inspired by the Bridgerton family as well as my own maternal grandmother's grandparents (so my maternal great grandparents), and I do hope you will enjoy my attempt of a Victorian Australian Bridgerton-like story.
I have been watching season 2 of Bridgerton, plus Pride and Prejudice (2005 version), along with Much Ado About Nothing as inspiration for this story.
I will warn you there will be period-typical sexism, sex scenes and some language. I know they used derogatory words back then but I wish to be inclusive of all people given Australia has a wide variety of cultures and people of many backgrounds and I will address them as respectfully as I address characters like the Montagues, so there will be no racism (I may want to be historically accurate but I'm not gonna be offensive)
(24/09/2024) I had published it but removed it to do some editing and have since republished. The version you'll read has been edited.
The characters you will meet throughout this story
Miss Hilda Montague ~ eldest daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Montague, aged 19 years.
Misses Ophelia, Philomena. Edith, Ursula and Louise Montague ~ Hilda's younger sisters, aged 18, 16, 14, 8 and 3 years respectively.
Mr Franklin Montague ~ Hilda's younger brother, aged 11 years
Mrs Elizabeth Montague née Whitfield ~ Hilda's mother, aged 40 years
Mr Charles Montague ~ Hilda's father, aged 42 years
Mr Henry Brookshaw ~ English aristocratic gentleman, aged 23 years
Sir Reginald Abernathy ~ Henry's uncle, aged 59 years
Lady Beatrice Abernathy née Brookshaw ~ Henry's aunt, aged 52 years
Miss Tilly Müller ~ Hilda and Ophelia's lady's maid and confidant from Germany, aged 20 years
Mrs Ryan ~ the Montague family's Irish cook, aged 49 years
Mr Townsend ~ The Montagues' English butler, aged 58 years
Georg ~ The Abernathy's German butler, aged 60 years
Yunche ~ A Chinese man panning for gold near Willowbrook, aged 24 years
Mr and Mrs Chen ~ A happily married Chinese couple in their mid 30s.
Richard 'Dickie' Blackmore, Gordon Pemberton and Archibald Ingham ~ Henry's friends from London, aged 20, 25 and 23 years respectively.
I do hope you enjoy the story, leave comments, votes, and I hope you all have a wonderful day/night!
with love NoirRose21
YOU ARE READING
Striking Gold
Historical FictionIt's 1852, and the Australian Gold Rush has begun. Hilda Montague loves Australia, the country she's lived in since birth. Henry Brookshaw despises it, the country he's been sent to by his widower father to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle...
