Shameful secrets surface during White Lotus-esque minibreak
Caroline Reid & Christian Sylt. Hodder & Stoughton. $34.99.
"F1 may seem like it's purely a sport but actually it's a high-octane tax-avoidance vehicle for its owners and it is all entirely legal," the authors write in the preface to this book that explores not just the Netflix-fuelled popularity of grand prix racing, but the multi-billion-dollar business behind it. F1 generates breathtaking amounts of revenue and profit, but it is also hideously expensive for teams to race, let alone win. As its subtitle promises, this book reveals "the backroom deals, corporate espionage and legendary power struggles" from the Bernie Ecclestone era to the drivers who are household names today.
Lynne Olson. Scribe. $37.99.
The Nazi concentration camp Ravensbruck, hidden in a forest north of Berlin during World War II, has been described as the camp that history forgot. It was designed specifically to house women. Four of those women, Germaine Tillion, Anise Girard, Jacqueline d'Alincourt and Genevieve de Gaulle (niece of General Charles de Gaulle) - all heroes of the French Resistance and all captured by the Gestapo - formed a tight-knit group and miraculously survived. Olson's book explores not just the bond between courageous women united in a battle to survive hell, but also the long-overlooked contribution that women made to the resistance movement.
Michael Pembroke. Hardie Grant. $37.99.
Trade and war shape nations and empires. Silk Silver Opium examines the fraught history of China's trading relationship with the West - a relationship that moulded not only global commerce, but the distrustful attitude of modern China. For centuries the world's silver drained towards China as mercury runs towards a plughole. Traders clamoured to buy first silk, then the mysterious Chinese ceramic, porcelain, then tea - the drink that took Britain by storm. The balance shifted when the British began smuggling opium into China and silver began to travel in the opposite direction. Then came conflict and humiliation. China has never forgotten.
Allan Mason. HarperCollins. $34.99.
People of a certain age will remember watching with glee when media titan Kerry Packer appeared before a parliamentary inquiry in 1991 and eviscerated the political stuffed shirts. "Of course I am minimising my tax," he growled. "And if anybody in this country doesn't minimise their tax, they want their heads read ...". Allan Mason worked for Packer, and the mogul gets a number of mentions in this updated fifth edition, a guide to making money and keeping it. Put another way: we are all playing the money game, but only some know the rules, and fewer know the tricks.
Kayte Nunn. HarperCollins. $34.99.
This White Lotus-esque destination thriller puts you poolside with a prosecco as a murder mystery plays out at the luxurious Palazzo Stellina in the foothills of the Italian Alps. Newly widowed beauty entrepreneur Vivi Savidge is hosting her 40th birthday getaway at this grand old former convent. Vivi's guests include her artist sister, Alice, who's flying from Brisbane with her teen twins in tow, ex-colleague Pete and new husband Nick, who are coming from Boston, and old uni friend Caroline, who's driving from Turin. Everyone is hiding a shameful secret that will simmer under the summer sun until the jealousy and greed turn deadly.
Nightshade
Michael Connelly. Allen & Unwin. $34.99.
In his 40th book, bestselling author Michael Connelly, creator of Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller and Renée Ballard, introduces a new character: Detective Dave Stilwell. Once assigned to a homicide desk on the mainland, Stilwell has been exiled to the quiet post of Catalina Island. Routine calls and minor crimes fill his days until a body is discovered, wrapped in plastic, at the bottom of the harbour. As the investigation unfolds, Stilwell navigates murky jurisdictional waters. The case leads him to question whether Catalina's calm exterior hides something more dangerous and whether his new posting is as peaceful as it first appeared.
Mark Brandi. Hachette. $32.99.
Fresh out of jail, country boy Tom Blackburn has left behind his old life and name but he's not sure about his future. Sleeping on the streets is the quickest way back to a cell, so he jumps at the offer of a job that includes a place to stay. Can a bit of gardening and gravedigging in the peace and quiet of a cemetery in the dead centre of Melbourne keep him out of trouble? Or will buried secrets come back to haunt him? This lyrical crime thriller is the fifth novel by Mark Brandi, who debuted in 2017 with the acclaimed Wimmera.
Rachel Gillig. Orbit. $32.99.
The first book in the new series by the author of globally renowned gothic romance saga The Shepherd King follows Sybill Delling, a diviner at Aisling Cathedral, who predicts the futures of those who pay handsomely. But the omens that determine fate are not what they seem. As she nears the end of her 10-year service, Sybill's fellow diviners begin disappearing one by one. With a heretical knight who does not believe, Sybill sets out to discover what's happening. Expect sharp wit and elegant prose as two wounded souls collide in a beautifully refined fantasy set in a hauntingly gothic world.
New releases include Kayte Nunn's destination thriller Pelazzo and Fast Money about the multi-billion-dollar business behind Formula One racing.
Caroline Reid & Christian Sylt. Hodder & Stoughton. $34.99.
"F1 may seem like it's purely a sport but actually it's a high-octane tax-avoidance vehicle for its owners and it is all entirely legal," the authors write in the preface to this book that explores not just the Netflix-fuelled popularity of grand prix racing, but the multi-billion-dollar business behind it. F1 generates breathtaking amounts of revenue and profit, but it is also hideously expensive for teams to race, let alone win. As its subtitle promises, this book reveals "the backroom deals, corporate espionage and legendary power struggles" from the Bernie Ecclestone era to the drivers who are household names today.
Lynne Olson. Scribe. $37.99.
The Nazi concentration camp Ravensbruck, hidden in a forest north of Berlin during World War II, has been described as the camp that history forgot. It was designed specifically to house women. Four of those women, Germaine Tillion, Anise Girard, Jacqueline d'Alincourt and Genevieve de Gaulle (niece of General Charles de Gaulle) - all heroes of the French Resistance and all captured by the Gestapo - formed a tight-knit group and miraculously survived. Olson's book explores not just the bond between courageous women united in a battle to survive hell, but also the long-overlooked contribution that women made to the resistance movement.
Michael Pembroke. Hardie Grant. $37.99.
Trade and war shape nations and empires. Silk Silver Opium examines the fraught history of China's trading relationship with the West - a relationship that moulded not only global commerce, but the distrustful attitude of modern China. For centuries the world's silver drained towards China as mercury runs towards a plughole. Traders clamoured to buy first silk, then the mysterious Chinese ceramic, porcelain, then tea - the drink that took Britain by storm. The balance shifted when the British began smuggling opium into China and silver began to travel in the opposite direction. Then came conflict and humiliation. China has never forgotten.
Allan Mason. HarperCollins. $34.99.
People of a certain age will remember watching with glee when media titan Kerry Packer appeared before a parliamentary inquiry in 1991 and eviscerated the political stuffed shirts. "Of course I am minimising my tax," he growled. "And if anybody in this country doesn't minimise their tax, they want their heads read ...". Allan Mason worked for Packer, and the mogul gets a number of mentions in this updated fifth edition, a guide to making money and keeping it. Put another way: we are all playing the money game, but only some know the rules, and fewer know the tricks.
Kayte Nunn. HarperCollins. $34.99.
This White Lotus-esque destination thriller puts you poolside with a prosecco as a murder mystery plays out at the luxurious Palazzo Stellina in the foothills of the Italian Alps. Newly widowed beauty entrepreneur Vivi Savidge is hosting her 40th birthday getaway at this grand old former convent. Vivi's guests include her artist sister, Alice, who's flying from Brisbane with her teen twins in tow, ex-colleague Pete and new husband Nick, who are coming from Boston, and old uni friend Caroline, who's driving from Turin. Everyone is hiding a shameful secret that will simmer under the summer sun until the jealousy and greed turn deadly.
Nightshade
Michael Connelly. Allen & Unwin. $34.99.
In his 40th book, bestselling author Michael Connelly, creator of Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller and Renée Ballard, introduces a new character: Detective Dave Stilwell. Once assigned to a homicide desk on the mainland, Stilwell has been exiled to the quiet post of Catalina Island. Routine calls and minor crimes fill his days until a body is discovered, wrapped in plastic, at the bottom of the harbour. As the investigation unfolds, Stilwell navigates murky jurisdictional waters. The case leads him to question whether Catalina's calm exterior hides something more dangerous and whether his new posting is as peaceful as it first appeared.
Mark Brandi. Hachette. $32.99.
Fresh out of jail, country boy Tom Blackburn has left behind his old life and name but he's not sure about his future. Sleeping on the streets is the quickest way back to a cell, so he jumps at the offer of a job that includes a place to stay. Can a bit of gardening and gravedigging in the peace and quiet of a cemetery in the dead centre of Melbourne keep him out of trouble? Or will buried secrets come back to haunt him? This lyrical crime thriller is the fifth novel by Mark Brandi, who debuted in 2017 with the acclaimed Wimmera.
Rachel Gillig. Orbit. $32.99.
The first book in the new series by the author of globally renowned gothic romance saga The Shepherd King follows Sybill Delling, a diviner at Aisling Cathedral, who predicts the futures of those who pay handsomely. But the omens that determine fate are not what they seem. As she nears the end of her 10-year service, Sybill's fellow diviners begin disappearing one by one. With a heretical knight who does not believe, Sybill sets out to discover what's happening. Expect sharp wit and elegant prose as two wounded souls collide in a beautifully refined fantasy set in a hauntingly gothic world.
New releases include Kayte Nunn's destination thriller Pelazzo and Fast Money about the multi-billion-dollar business behind Formula One racing.
Caroline Reid & Christian Sylt. Hodder & Stoughton. $34.99.
"F1 may seem like it's purely a sport but actually it's a high-octane tax-avoidance vehicle for its owners and it is all entirely legal," the authors write in the preface to this book that explores not just the Netflix-fuelled popularity of grand prix racing, but the multi-billion-dollar business behind it. F1 generates breathtaking amounts of revenue and profit, but it is also hideously expensive for teams to race, let alone win. As its subtitle promises, this book reveals "the backroom deals, corporate espionage and legendary power struggles" from the Bernie Ecclestone era to the drivers who are household names today.
Lynne Olson. Scribe. $37.99.
The Nazi concentration camp Ravensbruck, hidden in a forest north of Berlin during World War II, has been described as the camp that history forgot. It was designed specifically to house women. Four of those women, Germaine Tillion, Anise Girard, Jacqueline d'Alincourt and Genevieve de Gaulle (niece of General Charles de Gaulle) - all heroes of the French Resistance and all captured by the Gestapo - formed a tight-knit group and miraculously survived. Olson's book explores not just the bond between courageous women united in a battle to survive hell, but also the long-overlooked contribution that women made to the resistance movement.
Michael Pembroke. Hardie Grant. $37.99.
Trade and war shape nations and empires. Silk Silver Opium examines the fraught history of China's trading relationship with the West - a relationship that moulded not only global commerce, but the distrustful attitude of modern China. For centuries the world's silver drained towards China as mercury runs towards a plughole. Traders clamoured to buy first silk, then the mysterious Chinese ceramic, porcelain, then tea - the drink that took Britain by storm. The balance shifted when the British began smuggling opium into China and silver began to travel in the opposite direction. Then came conflict and humiliation. China has never forgotten.
Allan Mason. HarperCollins. $34.99.
People of a certain age will remember watching with glee when media titan Kerry Packer appeared before a parliamentary inquiry in 1991 and eviscerated the political stuffed shirts. "Of course I am minimising my tax," he growled. "And if anybody in this country doesn't minimise their tax, they want their heads read ...". Allan Mason worked for Packer, and the mogul gets a number of mentions in this updated fifth edition, a guide to making money and keeping it. Put another way: we are all playing the money game, but only some know the rules, and fewer know the tricks.
Kayte Nunn. HarperCollins. $34.99.
This White Lotus-esque destination thriller puts you poolside with a prosecco as a murder mystery plays out at the luxurious Palazzo Stellina in the foothills of the Italian Alps. Newly widowed beauty entrepreneur Vivi Savidge is hosting her 40th birthday getaway at this grand old former convent. Vivi's guests include her artist sister, Alice, who's flying from Brisbane with her teen twins in tow, ex-colleague Pete and new husband Nick, who are coming from Boston, and old uni friend Caroline, who's driving from Turin. Everyone is hiding a shameful secret that will simmer under the summer sun until the jealousy and greed turn deadly.
Nightshade
Michael Connelly. Allen & Unwin. $34.99.
In his 40th book, bestselling author Michael Connelly, creator of Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller and Renée Ballard, introduces a new character: Detective Dave Stilwell. Once assigned to a homicide desk on the mainland, Stilwell has been exiled to the quiet post of Catalina Island. Routine calls and minor crimes fill his days until a body is discovered, wrapped in plastic, at the bottom of the harbour. As the investigation unfolds, Stilwell navigates murky jurisdictional waters. The case leads him to question whether Catalina's calm exterior hides something more dangerous and whether his new posting is as peaceful as it first appeared.
Mark Brandi. Hachette. $32.99.
Fresh out of jail, country boy Tom Blackburn has left behind his old life and name but he's not sure about his future. Sleeping on the streets is the quickest way back to a cell, so he jumps at the offer of a job that includes a place to stay. Can a bit of gardening and gravedigging in the peace and quiet of a cemetery in the dead centre of Melbourne keep him out of trouble? Or will buried secrets come back to haunt him? This lyrical crime thriller is the fifth novel by Mark Brandi, who debuted in 2017 with the acclaimed Wimmera.
Rachel Gillig. Orbit. $32.99.
The first book in the new series by the author of globally renowned gothic romance saga The Shepherd King follows Sybill Delling, a diviner at Aisling Cathedral, who predicts the futures of those who pay handsomely. But the omens that determine fate are not what they seem. As she nears the end of her 10-year service, Sybill's fellow diviners begin disappearing one by one. With a heretical knight who does not believe, Sybill sets out to discover what's happening. Expect sharp wit and elegant prose as two wounded souls collide in a beautifully refined fantasy set in a hauntingly gothic world.
New releases include Kayte Nunn's destination thriller Pelazzo and Fast Money about the multi-billion-dollar business behind Formula One racing.
Caroline Reid & Christian Sylt. Hodder & Stoughton. $34.99.
"F1 may seem like it's purely a sport but actually it's a high-octane tax-avoidance vehicle for its owners and it is all entirely legal," the authors write in the preface to this book that explores not just the Netflix-fuelled popularity of grand prix racing, but the multi-billion-dollar business behind it. F1 generates breathtaking amounts of revenue and profit, but it is also hideously expensive for teams to race, let alone win. As its subtitle promises, this book reveals "the backroom deals, corporate espionage and legendary power struggles" from the Bernie Ecclestone era to the drivers who are household names today.
Lynne Olson. Scribe. $37.99.
The Nazi concentration camp Ravensbruck, hidden in a forest north of Berlin during World War II, has been described as the camp that history forgot. It was designed specifically to house women. Four of those women, Germaine Tillion, Anise Girard, Jacqueline d'Alincourt and Genevieve de Gaulle (niece of General Charles de Gaulle) - all heroes of the French Resistance and all captured by the Gestapo - formed a tight-knit group and miraculously survived. Olson's book explores not just the bond between courageous women united in a battle to survive hell, but also the long-overlooked contribution that women made to the resistance movement.
Michael Pembroke. Hardie Grant. $37.99.
Trade and war shape nations and empires. Silk Silver Opium examines the fraught history of China's trading relationship with the West - a relationship that moulded not only global commerce, but the distrustful attitude of modern China. For centuries the world's silver drained towards China as mercury runs towards a plughole. Traders clamoured to buy first silk, then the mysterious Chinese ceramic, porcelain, then tea - the drink that took Britain by storm. The balance shifted when the British began smuggling opium into China and silver began to travel in the opposite direction. Then came conflict and humiliation. China has never forgotten.
Allan Mason. HarperCollins. $34.99.
People of a certain age will remember watching with glee when media titan Kerry Packer appeared before a parliamentary inquiry in 1991 and eviscerated the political stuffed shirts. "Of course I am minimising my tax," he growled. "And if anybody in this country doesn't minimise their tax, they want their heads read ...". Allan Mason worked for Packer, and the mogul gets a number of mentions in this updated fifth edition, a guide to making money and keeping it. Put another way: we are all playing the money game, but only some know the rules, and fewer know the tricks.
Kayte Nunn. HarperCollins. $34.99.
This White Lotus-esque destination thriller puts you poolside with a prosecco as a murder mystery plays out at the luxurious Palazzo Stellina in the foothills of the Italian Alps. Newly widowed beauty entrepreneur Vivi Savidge is hosting her 40th birthday getaway at this grand old former convent. Vivi's guests include her artist sister, Alice, who's flying from Brisbane with her teen twins in tow, ex-colleague Pete and new husband Nick, who are coming from Boston, and old uni friend Caroline, who's driving from Turin. Everyone is hiding a shameful secret that will simmer under the summer sun until the jealousy and greed turn deadly.
Nightshade
Michael Connelly. Allen & Unwin. $34.99.
In his 40th book, bestselling author Michael Connelly, creator of Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller and Renée Ballard, introduces a new character: Detective Dave Stilwell. Once assigned to a homicide desk on the mainland, Stilwell has been exiled to the quiet post of Catalina Island. Routine calls and minor crimes fill his days until a body is discovered, wrapped in plastic, at the bottom of the harbour. As the investigation unfolds, Stilwell navigates murky jurisdictional waters. The case leads him to question whether Catalina's calm exterior hides something more dangerous and whether his new posting is as peaceful as it first appeared.
Mark Brandi. Hachette. $32.99.
Fresh out of jail, country boy Tom Blackburn has left behind his old life and name but he's not sure about his future. Sleeping on the streets is the quickest way back to a cell, so he jumps at the offer of a job that includes a place to stay. Can a bit of gardening and gravedigging in the peace and quiet of a cemetery in the dead centre of Melbourne keep him out of trouble? Or will buried secrets come back to haunt him? This lyrical crime thriller is the fifth novel by Mark Brandi, who debuted in 2017 with the acclaimed Wimmera.
Rachel Gillig. Orbit. $32.99.
The first book in the new series by the author of globally renowned gothic romance saga The Shepherd King follows Sybill Delling, a diviner at Aisling Cathedral, who predicts the futures of those who pay handsomely. But the omens that determine fate are not what they seem. As she nears the end of her 10-year service, Sybill's fellow diviners begin disappearing one by one. With a heretical knight who does not believe, Sybill sets out to discover what's happening. Expect sharp wit and elegant prose as two wounded souls collide in a beautifully refined fantasy set in a hauntingly gothic world.
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The Age
19 hours ago
- The Age
Power, passion and … kilts? The origin story stirring up the past
It's always been about passion. Passion fuels the fans as they fall hopelessly in love with the principles and principals of Outlander. And it drives the story, keeping its characters simmering, in a romance for the ages. Outlander winds down with its eighth and final season next year, but no one could let it simply die, quietly slipping into endless syndication and eventual trivia questions. Universally beloved – except by those bestowing awards – the show had to go on. Filling that need, Outlander: Blood of My Blood premieres with two of its 10 episodes. (It's already renewed for a second season.) The prequel reveals the origin stories of Outlander's main characters, Claire and Jamie (Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan), by focusing on their parents. Fittingly, both sets of parents were also ruled by passion. 'The passion is also transferable,' says Hermione Corfield, who plays Claire's mother, Julia. 'You've got the romantic passion – a lot of the characters are driven by their hearts and are willing to do anything to follow their hearts. But I think that also applies for their passion to their clan, or to their families, or to their cause. Everyone is passionate and passionate in different shades, depending on what their main plight is.' Claire's parents, like their daughter, are book-smart, brave and methodical, relying on facts but also trusting their intuition. Claire's father, Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine), and mother leave her with her uncle, an archaeologist, for a holiday when she's six years old. This sort of casual detail reinforces the care with which the origin story is told. Claire grows into a logical, intellectually ravenous woman, whose sense of the explicable world is tested when she's forced to believe in time travel as she flits between post-World War II England and 18th-century Scotland. As several actors noted, viewers can come to the spin-off having never seen Outlander. For millions of loyal fans, however, the prequel will make perfect sense. The physical resemblances between parents and offspring are uncanny. It's startling how much Corfield resembles Balfe. Like her daughter, Julia wears her untamable hair pushed off her face, held back with a scarf from which curls escape. The casting is so spot-on that were anyone to glance at photos of Harriet Slater and Jamie Roy and imagine what their gorgeous child would look like, the result would be Heughan, the perfect morphing of these two. Loading 'We actually went to a look-alike competition to get these roles,' Roy says, deadpan. 'It wasn't an audition. It's just, you know, in a field with 100 guys, if you looked like Sam.' Roy had auditioned for Outlander but wasn't cast because he looks too much like Heughan. He breaks into a wide grin as he speaks with Slater, who has flaming red hair, like Heughan. Their characters are star-crossed lovers, the Romeo and Juliet tragedy. Coming from clans that hate each other, the kids are destined to fall in love. But they would not allow their passion to be extinguished. 'She's so complicated, which is what I love about her,' Slater says of her character, Ellen MacKenzie. 'She is very strong-willed. She's very smart. She is trapped in a situation. You know, she's a woman in 1714 Scotland. There are so many things she can't do or say. There are so many expectations put on her. She's expected to perform her duty and marry for the sake of the clan, but she doesn't want to do that. She's never wanted to do that, and her father always protected her from that. 'But at the start of the show, we see her vulnerable because he [her father, the laird] has just passed away, and her brothers use that immediately to their own advantage,' Slater continues. 'And start making plans for who they're going to marry her off to, in order to secure lairdship or whatever. And that's when she meets this guy and falls head over heels in love, and her whole world is turned upside-down because she never thought she'd feel this way. 'She's fully torn between wanting to be with him but knowing that he's from a rival clan, and that's just not done, and she wants to protect the clan at the same time and protect her family. So, it's a really tricky situation, but an exciting one to play.' Loading Longtime fans needn't fret. The prequel delivers what they crave. It's beautifully produced – some shots resemble Vermeer paintings – has haunting melodies, some dialogue in Gaelic and fierce fight scenes. It's designed to retain the saga's global fan base and lure in new devotees by living within the layered universe Diana Gabaldon created with her bestsellers. Her work forms the foundation for Outlander: Blood of My Blood. This phrase is invoked often in the first three episodes. People declare their allegiances, and never half-heartedly. Passion thrums through all. Honour, loyalty, fealty. Before these words were diluted into meaningless corporate mission statements, they represented selfless principles for which a man would give his life. When that man is a well-muscled, square-jawed Scotsman wrapped in a kilt, standing in the mists of the Highlands, passion gets elevated to frenzy. That passion is combustible with Jamie and Claire, consumed by the sort of love so singular that all else fades. It's the sort of connection people spend their lives seeking. Blood of My Blood takes viewers to familiar, yet slightly different times as the parents' epic love stories unfold in 1714 and 1917. Of course, time travel must be a constant, and the characters reflect their eras. The actors playing Claire's parents had an advantage because they're friends. 'We did a film called Fallen, which was part of a YA novel series,' Corfield says. 'We shot it about10 years ago. We met on a job in Budapest and stayed friends all these years.' Henry and Julia forge their bond intellectually, and when they can be together, it's incendiary. With both couples, their initial attraction is explosive, sparking reactions so profound their atomic matter must have been shuffled. Given Jamie's parents were born when marriages were arranged and women were considered chattel, options were limited. Ellen MacKenzie was a prize her brothers could use to sweeten a deal. Naturally, she's savvier than her brothers. On a publicity tour, having shot the first five episodes of the second season, Roy considers what drives his character, Brian Fraser. 'First of all, he's pragmatic,' Roy says. 'He can be quick-cutting when he needs to be, but he's honestly a man of very simple needs. He's a bastard, born out of wedlock. So, he doesn't have the same opportunities as a lot of men his age would have, and he won't have those, unfortunately. But he's very much made peace with that. He's very stoic in that sense, but he's extremely passionate.' 'They are all incredibly passionate people,' Slater, his onscreen wife, notes. 'It's not just necessarily romantically, although it is as well. There are so many other things that they are passionate about. Colum and Dougal [her brothers], they're so passionate about power.' Having already encountered fans at conventions, the actors realise a new level of celebrity could soon envelop them. They've talked about signing on to Outlander: Blood of My Blood for six years. However, nothing is definitive beyond the second season. All hinges on whether fans feel the Outlander alchemy in the prequel. Loading 'When we talk about the show, we say, ultimately, it's the lens that people will go to, get what they want, whether it's love, power, and respect – any of these things, but that's all really driven by passion,' Roy says. 'If they weren't passionate about it, then they wouldn't care. If you don't care, then, well, there'd be no story, right?' Outlander: Blood of my Blood premieres on Friday, August 8, on Stan, which is owned by Nine, the owner of this masthead.
Sydney Morning Herald
19 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Power, passion and … kilts? The origin story stirring up the past
It's always been about passion. Passion fuels the fans as they fall hopelessly in love with the principles and principals of Outlander. And it drives the story, keeping its characters simmering, in a romance for the ages. Outlander winds down with its eighth and final season next year, but no one could let it simply die, quietly slipping into endless syndication and eventual trivia questions. Universally beloved – except by those bestowing awards – the show had to go on. Filling that need, Outlander: Blood of My Blood premieres with two of its 10 episodes. (It's already renewed for a second season.) The prequel reveals the origin stories of Outlander's main characters, Claire and Jamie (Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan), by focusing on their parents. Fittingly, both sets of parents were also ruled by passion. 'The passion is also transferable,' says Hermione Corfield, who plays Claire's mother, Julia. 'You've got the romantic passion – a lot of the characters are driven by their hearts and are willing to do anything to follow their hearts. But I think that also applies for their passion to their clan, or to their families, or to their cause. Everyone is passionate and passionate in different shades, depending on what their main plight is.' Claire's parents, like their daughter, are book-smart, brave and methodical, relying on facts but also trusting their intuition. Claire's father, Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine), and mother leave her with her uncle, an archaeologist, for a holiday when she's six years old. This sort of casual detail reinforces the care with which the origin story is told. Claire grows into a logical, intellectually ravenous woman, whose sense of the explicable world is tested when she's forced to believe in time travel as she flits between post-World War II England and 18th-century Scotland. As several actors noted, viewers can come to the spin-off having never seen Outlander. For millions of loyal fans, however, the prequel will make perfect sense. The physical resemblances between parents and offspring are uncanny. It's startling how much Corfield resembles Balfe. Like her daughter, Julia wears her untamable hair pushed off her face, held back with a scarf from which curls escape. The casting is so spot-on that were anyone to glance at photos of Harriet Slater and Jamie Roy and imagine what their gorgeous child would look like, the result would be Heughan, the perfect morphing of these two. Loading 'We actually went to a look-alike competition to get these roles,' Roy says, deadpan. 'It wasn't an audition. It's just, you know, in a field with 100 guys, if you looked like Sam.' Roy had auditioned for Outlander but wasn't cast because he looks too much like Heughan. He breaks into a wide grin as he speaks with Slater, who has flaming red hair, like Heughan. Their characters are star-crossed lovers, the Romeo and Juliet tragedy. Coming from clans that hate each other, the kids are destined to fall in love. But they would not allow their passion to be extinguished. 'She's so complicated, which is what I love about her,' Slater says of her character, Ellen MacKenzie. 'She is very strong-willed. She's very smart. She is trapped in a situation. You know, she's a woman in 1714 Scotland. There are so many things she can't do or say. There are so many expectations put on her. She's expected to perform her duty and marry for the sake of the clan, but she doesn't want to do that. She's never wanted to do that, and her father always protected her from that. 'But at the start of the show, we see her vulnerable because he [her father, the laird] has just passed away, and her brothers use that immediately to their own advantage,' Slater continues. 'And start making plans for who they're going to marry her off to, in order to secure lairdship or whatever. And that's when she meets this guy and falls head over heels in love, and her whole world is turned upside-down because she never thought she'd feel this way. 'She's fully torn between wanting to be with him but knowing that he's from a rival clan, and that's just not done, and she wants to protect the clan at the same time and protect her family. So, it's a really tricky situation, but an exciting one to play.' Loading Longtime fans needn't fret. The prequel delivers what they crave. It's beautifully produced – some shots resemble Vermeer paintings – has haunting melodies, some dialogue in Gaelic and fierce fight scenes. It's designed to retain the saga's global fan base and lure in new devotees by living within the layered universe Diana Gabaldon created with her bestsellers. Her work forms the foundation for Outlander: Blood of My Blood. This phrase is invoked often in the first three episodes. People declare their allegiances, and never half-heartedly. Passion thrums through all. Honour, loyalty, fealty. Before these words were diluted into meaningless corporate mission statements, they represented selfless principles for which a man would give his life. When that man is a well-muscled, square-jawed Scotsman wrapped in a kilt, standing in the mists of the Highlands, passion gets elevated to frenzy. That passion is combustible with Jamie and Claire, consumed by the sort of love so singular that all else fades. It's the sort of connection people spend their lives seeking. Blood of My Blood takes viewers to familiar, yet slightly different times as the parents' epic love stories unfold in 1714 and 1917. Of course, time travel must be a constant, and the characters reflect their eras. The actors playing Claire's parents had an advantage because they're friends. 'We did a film called Fallen, which was part of a YA novel series,' Corfield says. 'We shot it about10 years ago. We met on a job in Budapest and stayed friends all these years.' Henry and Julia forge their bond intellectually, and when they can be together, it's incendiary. With both couples, their initial attraction is explosive, sparking reactions so profound their atomic matter must have been shuffled. Given Jamie's parents were born when marriages were arranged and women were considered chattel, options were limited. Ellen MacKenzie was a prize her brothers could use to sweeten a deal. Naturally, she's savvier than her brothers. On a publicity tour, having shot the first five episodes of the second season, Roy considers what drives his character, Brian Fraser. 'First of all, he's pragmatic,' Roy says. 'He can be quick-cutting when he needs to be, but he's honestly a man of very simple needs. He's a bastard, born out of wedlock. So, he doesn't have the same opportunities as a lot of men his age would have, and he won't have those, unfortunately. But he's very much made peace with that. He's very stoic in that sense, but he's extremely passionate.' 'They are all incredibly passionate people,' Slater, his onscreen wife, notes. 'It's not just necessarily romantically, although it is as well. There are so many other things that they are passionate about. Colum and Dougal [her brothers], they're so passionate about power.' Having already encountered fans at conventions, the actors realise a new level of celebrity could soon envelop them. They've talked about signing on to Outlander: Blood of My Blood for six years. However, nothing is definitive beyond the second season. All hinges on whether fans feel the Outlander alchemy in the prequel. Loading 'When we talk about the show, we say, ultimately, it's the lens that people will go to, get what they want, whether it's love, power, and respect – any of these things, but that's all really driven by passion,' Roy says. 'If they weren't passionate about it, then they wouldn't care. If you don't care, then, well, there'd be no story, right?' Outlander: Blood of my Blood premieres on Friday, August 8, on Stan, which is owned by Nine, the owner of this masthead.
West Australian
2 days ago
- West Australian
Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King ‘certainly wouldn't' rule out equity investment in rare earth miners
Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King has suggested Australia could replicate the US government's move to grab a big shareholding in a rare earths company. The US Department of Defense last month struck a landmark deal with the Gina Rinehart-backed MP Materials to acquire a 15 per cent stake in the Las Vegas-headquartered company and buy some of its rare earth element products. Uncle Sam took the extraordinary equity investment step — believed to be the first of its kind since World War II — as part of its push to break China's stranglehold on the supply chain for rare earth elements. These elements are used in the magnets that power electronic products like precision-guided missiles, MRI machines, smartphones and electric vehicles. Speaking at Diggers & Dealers on Tuesday, Minister King said the Albanese Government 'certainly wouldn't' rule out following in the footsteps of the US by investing in an Australian-based producer of rare earths. 'I would say that the government special investment vehicles, a number of them, have been enabled, through changes in legislation, to take equity stakes for a number of years,' she said. 'It's a high bar to get over, (but) you certainly wouldn't rule it out.' Ms King said the Federal Government would only make an investment if there was confidence the amount spent would be repaid in full. 'Because people would quite rightly comment, why should the Australian taxpayer fund minerals processing?' Lynas Rare Earths, Iluka Resources, Australian Strategic Materials and Arafura Rare Earths could be among those vying for the Federal investment. As part of the US and MP partnership, the DOD has agreed to pay a minimum of $US110 per kilogram for MP's neodymium and praseodymium for a decade. The US price floor comes amid strong suggestions China has been purposely depressing the price of NdPr to about half of the $US110/kg floor to put the Western World's producers out of business. Minister King on Tuesday said Australia would also consider setting a rare earths price floor in offtake agreements that could feed into a $1.2 billion critical minerals strategic reserve announced in April. 'Pricing certainty means companies and investors are less exposed to volatile markets and prices, which are opaque and prone to manipulation,' she said. 'Mechanisms for an appropriate price floor are under active consideration. The focus will be on creating national offtake agreements. 'Our critical minerals strategic reserve aims to play a role in providing price certainty for emerging critical minerals projects, which helps to de-risk and crowd-in private sector investment.' The $1.2b strategic reserve is set to be focused on rare earths. Lynas, which had originally been a critic of the stockpile, appears to have softened its stance in recent days and Minister King on Tuesday said the Amanda Lacaze-led company was 'participating' in discussions. One of Australia's key players in the rare earths industry suggested that Australia should follow the US lead on the price floor. 'If you wanted to pick a price that brings in investors, that has upside because it's still below the incentive price, you would say $(US)110 per kilogram (for NdPr) is about right,' Arafura chief executive Darryl Cuzzubbo said at Diggers & Dealers on Tuesday. Mr Cuzzubbo said the 'incentive price' to develop new rare earth projects was a neodymium and praseodymium price of between $130/kg and $160/kg. Perth-based Arafura, which is developing the $1.9b Nolans project in the Northern Territory, said a $US100/kg NdPr has been baked into the business case for Nolans.
