Novel is tribute to mineworkers
Published 20 Jul 2012 07:30
A NEW novel has been published set around the mines of the Cumnock area in the 19th century.
Australian writer Carmel McMurdo Audsley was inspired but her father's home town of New Cumnock to write the family saga 'Ours, Yours and Mines' - partly informed by her own family history and Ayrshire ancestors.
The Brisbane-based author discovered fascinating snippets of her family's past - including a friendship with local political pioneer Keir Hardie - and was inspired to tell the story of what it would have been like to grow up surrounding by the coal mining industry of the time.
Carmel Audsley said: "I started to research my family history out of interest, but what I found was the basis for three books.
"Ours, Yours and Mines is the first story in a trilogy about the McMurdo family across the generations as they battled poverty, disease and death in cramped conditions in the two-roomed accommodation provided for the miners and their families.
"The book is a tribute to the men who slaved away underground in coal mines, facing daily dangers, and the women who worked hard, bearing and raising large families and praying that their men would return unharmed from the pits.
"It is the story of many families of the time, and an informative and entertaining look at the difficult times experienced by everyone - especially the women.
"The overwhelming sadness tugs at your heart strings, and it is even more poignant when you know that it really happened."
Ours, Yours and Mines is available from www. amazon.co.uk.
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