“Outback Odyssey” tells the story of a young man from Yorkshire who emigrates to Australia in the 1950s under the Big Brother Movement scheme.
In the wake of war and dislocation, young Yorkshireman Jimmy journeys to the outback, chasing escape but finding something far more dangerous: the truth of himself and the land he now calls home.
What begins as a story of survival becomes a profound allegory of belonging, silence, and identity. As Jimmy collides with love and betrayal, he also encounters the enduring wisdom of the First Peoples — knowledge that most outsiders are too frightened to face, let alone write about.
Outback Odyssey is sweeping and cinematic, a novel of resilience threaded with unexpected twists and allegorical depth. Already under consideration for a screenplay adaptation, it peels back the myths of Australia’s past to reveal what lies beneath: the unspoken histories, the inherited traumas, and the courage it takes to walk a path that others fear.
Paul Rushworth-Brown was born in England and raised in Canada before emigrating to Australia at eighteen, where he became a citizen. By twenty, he had already travelled the world twice, hitchhiked across Australia, and worked as a navvy in outback Queensland — experiences that gave him an enduring respect for resilience, culture, and the landscapes that shape human character.
He later completed a Master’s degree at Charles Sturt University, honing the research skills that underpin his richly detailed novels. A high school teacher and former professional football coach, Paul draws on a lifetime of experience to bring authenticity and depth to his writing.
His novels are known for their cinematic sweep, allegorical undercurrents, and unexpected twists. Outback Odyssey, his fourth book, is a tale of survival and belonging set against the vast backdrop of 1950s Australia. Beneath its page-turning adventure lie questions of identity, silence, and reconciliation — themes that echo long after the final page.
Paul lives in Sydney, where he writes, teaches, and continues to explore the intersections of history and identity.
Amanda extended her hand, her grip firm and full of energy. “Welcome, Jimmy Brown. I’m glad to have you here.”
Her eyes lingered on him longer than she intended. He wasn’t like the stockmen she had grown up around — sunburnt, rough-edged, all bluster and calloused hands. Jimmy was different. His sharp, freckled features carried a boyishness touched by uncertainty, and his long, blond hair curled at the ends, damp with sweat. But it was his eyes that unsettled her. Blue — not just in colour, but in depth, as if carrying shadows and hopes in equal measure.
Jimmy shifted under her gaze. “Thank you, Mrs…?” he asked, trying to steady himself in this new world, the bush stretching out behind them.
“Amanda,” she said simply, holding his eyes a heartbeat longer.
In that moment, neither the red dust nor the weight of silence that had shaped Jimmy’s past mattered. Here, at the edge of the outback, something had shifted — a beginning neither of them yet understood, but both had already felt.
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