The Red Bull

by H. A. Lindsay

Robert Hale, 1959, [First Edition], hardcover

Very Good Condition, a little edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, previous owners stamp on inside front cover, foxing to introductory pages and endpapers, (see photographs)

“In Australian slang “Letting the Red Bull loose”, describes a bushfire started wither as an act of revenge or in order to graze stock on the young growth which follows the fire.
This dramatic, authentic novel dealing with the problem is set mainly in the wild, foothill country of the Dividing Range in the south-eastern corner of Australia.  It gives, too, vivid glimpses of city life and of the tropics of North Queensland.  It tells the story of Tom Reeford, who in spite of little capital, intermittent illness and the constant fire threat, turns an abandoned goldfield into a prosperous farm.  It is the story, too, of Tom’s only child, Alison.  After winning a scholarship and graduating in science, she becomes manager of a commercial forestry enterprise and works unremittingly to find a deterrent to the threat of bushfires.  And through her struggles is also threaded romance.
It is a fine story about a real and terrifying menace.”