Sarjan – An Historical Novel

Sarjan is an Historical Novel that spans twenty-five years and two cultures, as it weaves a tale of the establishment of the Swan River Colony in Western Australia. It follows the lives of two young settler siblings, Sara Jane (Sarjan), William (Willem) and an Aboriginal boy (Yeddi) brought together in tragic circumstances.
The adventures of these characters transport the reader from the 1829 arrival of Captain James Stirling and Thomas Peel with the first white settlers, to skirmishes with Aborigines (culminating in the Pinjarra massacre), to South Africa’s Cape Colony and back to the mother country in England, and a detour to the Victorian Goldfields, before returning to Fremantle.

Sarjan is a story of pioneering spirit, hardship, adventure, fulfilment, heartaches and love, …

First Edition. Author: Dr Jennifer Browne was born in Northam, Western Australia, and grew up near Perth’s Swan River. Following a teaching career spanning forty years, and culminating as an Associate Professor and Head of School of Arts and Humanities at Edith Cowan University, Jenny proceeded to establish two acclaimed educational publishing businesses, B+G Resources and Innovative Business Resources. In the process, Jenny authored or co-authored dozens of books and manuals, particularly in sport, physical education and small business management. Jenny ‘retired’ from academia and educational writing to focus on her interest in local history. Sarjan was Jenny’s first venture into fiction. Jenny lived with her partner in a beachside suburb of Perth, and regularly holidayed at both Rottnest and her Mandurah cottage near the Peel/Harvey Estuary. Jenny was working on the sequel to Sarjan when struck down by a neurodegenerative disease. She passed away in 2013 and her partner, Angela Smith, has undertaken to finish the manuscript.