This novel tells the story of Oscar Hopkins, an Oxford seminarian with a passion for gambling and Lucinda Leplastrier, a Sydney heiress with a fascination for glass. The year is 1865. When they meet on the boat to Australia their lives will be changed forever...Peter Carey is the author of "The Fat Man in History", "Bliss" which won the Miles Franklin Award and the NSW Premier Award, and "Illywhacker", which was shortlisted for the 1985 Booker prize.