The Watchnight

A Novel

Michael Burge

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English

Vita Histria
09 September 2025

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Historical fiction; Australian Crime Fiction

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In a remote Methodist community of New South Wales in 1852, aspiring lay preacher Charles Muncey is tasked with recording the sins of every soul who signs up for a week-long revival.

He has plenty to work with. Pardoned convict Thomas Gunson knows the way through the wilderness and agrees to guide the faithful on a circuit of their struggling chapels, though he fears the company of people now that he's out of his shackles. Irish emigre Oona Farry, recruited as a candlemaker, resents the devotion of the women during their ecstatic praising, convinced that God has abandoned her for her lustful secrets. Even righteous hosts Jacob and Anne Temple harbour transgressions they dare not voice.

But when Californian preacher Charisma Groom stirs up unbridled repentance during a watchnight mass on the edge of wild country, illicit sex and sudden death come to light. The congregation is ordered to hunt the devil through the ancient Fish River Caves, a dangerous underworld where raptures more powerful than faith are awakened.

With nothing but his fledgling moral compass, Muncey must see through blind faith to uncover which member of the flock is a callous killer.

This is a bold reimagining of the untold story of the Methodist settlers who colonised Australia's renowned Jenolan Caves during the Frontier Wars.

By: Michael Burge
Imprint: Vita Histria
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 12mm
Weight: 299g
ISBN: 9781592115709
ISBN 10: 1592115705
Pages: 230
Publication Date: 09 September 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Michael Burge is an author and journalist living in Deepwater, in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. His debut rural noir novel, Tank Water, was released by MidnightSun Publishing. He has written for The Guardian, Fairfax Media, and the Journal of Australian Studies, and he is a board member of BAD Sydney, New South Wales' crime writing festival. Michael's great-grandparents represent a broad cultural spectrum in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, including English, Scottish, and Irish migrants, as well as Mori heritage. He enjoys researching the diverse cultures that shaped the colonial landscape of the region. The thousands of steps he took through Jenolan Caves as a tour guide from 2008 to 2012 inspired him to create The Watchnight. His complete works can be found at www.burgewords.com.