{"title":"Vicki Steggall","description":"\u003cp\u003eVicki Steggall's works invite readers into compelling life stories, blending rich detail with engaging narrative in the \u003cem\u003eBiography \u0026amp; Memoir\u003c\/em\u003e genre. Her writing captures the essence of personal journeys with vivid insight and emotional depth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough titles like \u003cstrong\u003eThe Banolians 2 Volume Slipcase\u003c\/strong\u003e, Steggall explores themes of identity, resilience, and transformation, making her books a captivating choice for those drawn to thoughtful and inspiring real-life tales.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-banolians-2-volume-slipcase-by-vicki-steggall-9781743799833","title":"The Banolians 2 Volume Slipcase","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe grand old Melbourne home Banole has long gone, and with it the way of life of a prosperous colonial Anglo-Australian family. I have read many family histories and sagas. \u003ci\u003eThe Banolians\u003c\/i\u003e is unlike any, except \u003ci\u003eWar And Peace\u003c\/i\u003e perhaps. This is a story on a grand scale by a witty yet scrupulous historian who has immersed herself in the secrets, successes, and travails of an exceptionally talented family spanning two centuries. Their lives and adventures transport us from the Tsar’s Russia to every corner of the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e— (Dr) Andrew Lemon AM FRHSV\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Banolians\u003c\/i\u003e is a family history that speaks to today’s reader, taking them on a journey from 1820 and the upper reaches of European nobility, through poverty, grief, and separation from Estonia, England \u0026amp; Ireland to Australia. The story then returns to England in the ‘Edwardian Summer’ before World War 1, including tennis at Wimbledon, student life at Cambridge, and on to the trenches of Europe, while family members wait anxiously in Melbourne.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStarting with the love affair between the Estonian Baroness Amalie Christine and her doctor, Ferdinand Jencken – and their elopement – the story is built from personal diaries, letters, and memoirs. They describe not only the perils and setbacks, but also astonishing changes of fortunes, including their rescue by a complete stranger, who becomes the family’s benefactor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSpanning three generations, readers have a ringside seat to the spiritualism movement of the nineteenth century, the hardships of life in colonial Sydney, the world of ‘Marvellous Melbourne’ and its attendant economic crash, the perils of sea travel, and the many small, personal distresses that family life brings. \u003ci\u003eThe Banolians\u003c\/i\u003e is frequently stranger than fiction, as life so often is.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48244513112300,"sku":"9781743799833","price":59.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781743799833-the-banolians-2-volume-slipcase-1.jpg?v=1787998266"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/vicki-steggall.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}