In eighteenth-century London, after escaping from the Workhouse, young Gemma Gallimore is forced to eke out an existence as a pickpocket. One night, she is brutally assaulted and, as a result, gives birth to a son, Sebastian. Gemma is left with no choice but to introduce her young son to the same life of crime she has been living, a way of life, which ultimately leads to both of them being arrested and transported to Sydney as convicts.
In Sydney, Gemma and Sebastian are assigned to kindly and wealthy widower, Benjamin Ainsley. Over the years, they both work diligently and honestly and are granted their freedom. Eventually, Gemma and Ben Ainsley can no longer deny their love for each other and marry. At the same time, back in London, another great love story is playing out. From vastly different backgrounds, Jeb and Emmaline Abels overcome opposition and hardship to be together and start their own family. Two worlds collide, to become forever intertwined, when Ben Ainsley persuades Jeb to move to Sydney, with Emmaline and their daughter, Sophie, to set up the first bank in Australia.
A sweeping family saga, traversing a full century and several generations, GALLIMORE paints a vivid picture of life in the 1800s on both sides of the world, from a rebuilt London following the Great Fire to the early Australian settlement of New South Wales and the Victorian gold rush. Painstakingly researched and interwoven with historical facts, Gallimore is told through the eyes of many an interesting and colorful character and is an engrossing story of great love and tragedy, poverty and prosperity, scandal and intrigue and, above all, the family ties that bind.
