The Clearing is a sequel to Jeannie Morgan’s prize winning first novel, Absence of Manners. Once again she vividly captures the realities and intricacies of life in mid nineteenth century Australia. Andrew Walters, an unsophisticated colonial lad, is dragged by a long hidden family secret into the tragedy of the Scottish Highland Clearances. At the same time, his own country, Australia, and his own life, are being changed forever by the tumult of the gold rushes. Love, loyalty and betrayal stretch his beliefs and his person. Is any of it worth the struggle?