Voss, a novel

the long version

Set in nineteenth-century Australia, "Voss" is Whiteas best-known book, a sweeping novel about a secret passion between the explorer Voss and the young orphan Laura. As Voss is tested by hardship, mutiny, and betrayal during his crossing of the brutal Australian desert, Laura awaits his return in Sydney, where she endures their months of separation as if her life were a dream and Voss the only reality. Marrying a sensitive rendering of hidden love with a stark adventure narrative, "Voss" is a novel of extraordinary power and virtuosity from a twentieth-century master.