by Catherine Evans

The first romance I remember reading was Lucy Walker’s Gamma’s Girl. One of our neighbours dropped it in because she knew I loved rural stories and Mum had shared with her the Mary Grant Bruce Billabong series.

In Gamma’s Girl, I don’t remember the exact story, what I remember is the aching sweetness of their love. I think it was her first love, and he was her everything. It was a rural Australian story and I loved it. I devoured everything I could find by Lucy Walker. I still have a copy of The Bell Branch, which is set in England so I’ve no idea why I kept that one.

I had a hunt around the internet to see if I could find a blurb, but I’ve had not much luck. It came out in 1977, and I would have read it a few years after that. On Goodreads it hasn’t got many stars, so maybe my first romance isn’t the best I’ve ever read! Looking on eBay, there are a lot of Lucy Walker stories but no Gamma’s Girl, although, I’d probably not read it again in case it bursts my gorgeous memory!

Here’s a bit of a blurb from AusLit.edu.au: “Gamma’s Girl tells the story of Nairee, who is found as a baby by an Aboriginal woman, and brought up by Widow Peech, whom Nairee calls ‘Gamma’ (a childish way of saying ‘Grandma’).”

Does anyone else remember this story?

If you’re looking to try romance, my suggestion is to pick the sub-genre you like to read and start there. I loved Aussie rural stories so it was perfect to read a romance along those lines. If you’re not into rurals, there’s pretty much romance to suit all tastes – I have Dad addicted to the fantasy and suspense romances!

Catherine Evans stays true to her roots: her story, The Healing Season, is a true blue rural romance.