{"product_id":"the-potato-factory-by-bryce-courtenay-9780143004561","title":"The Potato Factory","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIkey Solomon's favourite saying is also his way of doing business. And in the business of thieving, he's very successful indeed. Ikey's partner in crime is his mistress, the forthright Mary Abacus, until misfortune befalls them. They are parted and each must make the harsh journey from thriving nineteenth-century London to the convict settlement of Van Diemen's Land.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the backstreets and dives of Hobart Town, Mary learns the art of brewing and builds the \u003cem\u003ePotato Factory\u003c\/em\u003e, where she plans a new future. But her ambitions are threatened by Ikey's wife, Hannah, her old enemy. The two women raise their separate families, one legitimate and the other bastard. As each woman sets out to destroy the other, the families are brought to the edge of disaster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCourtenay offers an ersatz Dickens novel, a sort of Australian \u003cem\u003eOliver!\u003c\/em\u003e but without the music.\u003c\/em\u003e – \u003cstrong\u003eSunday Age\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe tale is vivid and instructive... \u003cem\u003eThe Potato Factory\u003c\/em\u003e is pure yarn-spinning, rattling along at heart-thumping pace. Barely a page goes by without incident. And for those who like their plots dense and melodramatic, Courtenay's in a class of his own.\u003c\/em\u003e – \u003cstrong\u003eTime\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/brycecourtenay.com\"\u003ebrycecourtenay.com\u003c\/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/BryceCourtenay\"\u003efacebook.com\/BryceCourtenay\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47487635325164,"sku":"9780143004561","price":28.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780143004561-the-potato-factory.jpg?v=1775750244","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/the-potato-factory-by-bryce-courtenay-9780143004561","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}