As an imaginative child, Christine Taylor hoarded her grandmother's tales of both achievement and tragedy as she ate warm scones and cakes in Ivanhoe on Sunday afternoons. Years later, whilst researching the integration of her German ancestors into the flourishing colony of Victoria, the story of a lead-lined coffin and the inheritance of a lyrebird brooch kindled the plot and themes of this historical novel.Christine attended Monash University and completed a Bachelor of Arts in history and literature, and later, while caring for her toddlers, a Bachelor of Education in psychology. During periods living in Germany, she delved into the background of her immigrant ancestors.After teaching English for twenty-one years at McKinnon Secondary College in Melbourne, including a period as head of English, she now enjoys writing fiction. She is grateful to the Lyceum Writers' group for their encouragement and to the following Victorian libraries for their assistance with archival materials: Beechworth Library, PMI Victoria History Library, Chiltern Atheneum Trust Museum and the State Library of Victoria. This is Christine's first published novel.