Golden Urchin by Madeleine Brent

Overall Rating- 4
Cleanliness Rating- 1.5 (for very mild language)

Synopsis on back of book:

In Golden Urchin, Brent’s storytelling powers are at their keenest as she creates a mesmerizing tale of love and dangerous intrigue in the haunting desolation of Austrailia’s outback. A beautiful young woman of Irish birth, Meg was only two when she was kidnapped from her parents, abandoned in the wilds of the Autstrailian outback, and taken in by a kindly aboriginal tribe. Called Mitji, “white woman,” by the aboriginies, Meg with her fine fair skin was indeed an oddity in this new desert home. Yet, growing up, she learned to survive like the natives, though always regarding herself as a freak among them. Now, a young woman, Meg sets out in search of a strange tribe she has heard of, white-skinned like herself. On her search, she comes across Luke Bowman who was wounded and almost dead. Mitji saves him and in return, he takes her to his farm near Perth, where his invalid wife, Rosemary, welcomes the red-haired half-savage, whom they christen Meg. Unbeknownst to all but an implacable, greedy enemy, she is the heiress to a fortune. When an attempt on her life is followed by Rosemary's death and Luke's heartbroken defection, Meg is deposited at a stuffy Swiss finishing school. Yet danger threatens even there, and in the company of several appealing companions she embarks on a pilgrimage through the polite drawing rooms of Victorian England, across the decks of a well-appointed yacht and along an unbeaten desert trail, in search of safe harbor. But through it all, the mystical teachings of the aborigines course passionately in her blood, giving Meg the courage to face a future of uncertain peril and unexpected love.

The story is told in first person narrative, by our heroine Mitji/Meg. Mitji/Meg's personality is fascinating, she looks at things very differently than expected because of the way she was raised and it is touching to watch her adapt from an Aborigine freak to a proper English woman. You also get the tortured but honorable hero (Luke) in this story. Every character is written extremely well. The love story is also believable and touching. It is poignant, wonderful and romantic. The guilt Luke feels in his attraction to Meg, her bewilderment at his mood swings, their growing love for each other (*sigh*), just fantastic. No graphic sex, just a lovely story well told. This was an excellent novel that was very interesting to read.