The child of an ancient people

"Three contemporaneous calamities, in Africa, Europe and Australia, form the historical background to Anouar Benmalek's masterful reconstruction of the political and social upheavals of the nineteenth century." "In 1872, Lislei, an Alsatian woman rescued from the bloody turmoil of the Paris Commune, and Kader, an Arab prince captured during the revolt of Sahara tribesmen against French colonists, are both deported to New Caledonia. They succeed in escaping aboard an old sailing ship bound for Australia. With them, on board ship, is Tridarir, an orphan, who is the last representative of his people, the Tasmanian Aboriginals." "Ranging backwards and forwards in time and place, this is a novel of passion and high adventure as well as a deeply moving love story. Set against the backdrop of British colonial expansion, it raises an issue that remains highly sensitive in Australia today: the extermination of an island race."--BOOK JACKET.