Love and the Platypus

Which is the greater mystery: the breeding habits of the platypus or the workings of the human heart?

In 1883 young British naturalist William Caldwell arrives in Australia with a mission: to determine for the scientific record whether the platypus really does lay eggs. But first he must travel overland to the Burnett River in Queensland, where he intends to set up camp. On his journey he is hindered and assisted by a cast of characters, including a drunken bullocky and an inscrutable, poetical bushman. Once there, William starts his investigations and encounters the local Aboriginal people, enlisting their help and ultimately learning their tragic history. He also meets a young blind woman with many secrets of her own.

Love and the Platypus is a delightful, captivating novel that examines the obsessive nature of scientific enquiry and its environmental consequences, and the wonders of the natural world and of romantic love.