• Kings in Grass Castles

  • By: Mary Durack
  • Narrated by: Jenny Seedsman
  • Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars (19 ratings)

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Kings in Grass Castles  By  cover art

Kings in Grass Castles

By: Mary Durack
Narrated by: Jenny Seedsman
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Publisher's summary

"'Cattle Kings' ye call us, then we are Kings in grass castles that may be blown away upon a puff of wind..." - Patrick Durack, 1878.

When Patrick Durack left Ireland for Australia in 1853, he was to found a dynasty of pioneers, and build an empire of cattle-land across the great stretches of Australia. His grand-daughter, Mary Durack, with a profound sense of family history, has rebuilt the saga of the Duracks, a saga that is the story of Australia itself, huge, pioneering, and tremendous in concept.

©1986 Mary Durack (P)2008 Bolinda Publishing
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Kings in Grass Castles

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Reader Cannot Salvage Poorly written story

The reader was professional and made a seriously sentimental and overwritten story at least endurable. But I cannot recommend this Audiobook, which I stuck with to the end, because the writing is in serious need aggressive editing and a sorting out of fact from fiction. I have written a review for the book, which I read in tandem with the Audiobook, on Amazon and Goodreads.

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disappointing

I wanted to read this story because I had visited the Durack homestead at the Ord River in the Kimberley Western Australia and because I recently met a young man who is a descendant of the Durack family. They were a remarkable Irish pioneer family. However, this particular account is sadly dreadfully tedious and boring. It covers far too much detail like a family diary.

Much of the detail is not really required to provide a good account of the family sage. Too many suppositions are made to interpret the early Durack's thoughts.
This in the only audible book I have found boring. I was determined to listen to the end but it never improved. I hope that someone with writing skill can redo this particular story and concentrate on a shorter span of their saga. It would be a tale worth writing in a more entertaining and readable style by a talented writer.

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