Hill of Grace

1951. Among the coppiced carob trees and arum lilies of the Barossa Valley, old-school Lutheran William Miller lives a quiet life with his wife, Bluma, and son Nathan, making wine and baking bread. But William has a secret. He's been studying the Bible and he's found what a thousand others couldn't: the date of the Apocalypse.

William sets out to convince his neighbours that they need to join him in preparation for the End. The locals of Tanunda become divided. Did William really hear God's voice on the Hill of Grace? Or is he really deluded? The greatest test of all for William is whether Bluma and Nathan will support him. As the seasons pass in the Valley, as the vines flower and fruit and lose their leaves, William himself is forced to question his own beliefs and the price he's willing to pay for them.

The Barossa Valley of the 1950s is beautifully captured in this, Stephen Orr's second novel. His first novel, Attempts to Draw Jesus, was a runner up in the 2000 Vogel Award and published by Allen and Unwin.