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Carmel McMurdo Audsley
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Ours, Yours and Mines: A family saga set in the miners' rows of Ayrshire Scotland in the mid-1800s to early 1900s Paperback – July 3, 2012

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 53 ratings
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An historical novel based on real people and places in the period 1861 to 1913, set amidst the poverty and overcrowding in the miners’ rows of Ayrshire Scotland.The author has put words into the mouths of her ancestors to create a picture of life for large mining families and how they battled sickness and disease, and barely eked out a living.The story begins with Thomas and Margaret McMurdo and their growing family and describes their simple lives crowded into a two-room dwelling in a miners’ row. There are many highs and lows for the family. You will be introduced to their children, and particularly their eldest son George who (against her mother’s wishes) marries 18-year-old Mary Hamilton, a carefree, educated young woman. You will read of the family’s friendship with well-known union activist Keir Hardie. It’s a story about the struggles of the miners and their families – the men who slaved away underground facing daily dangers, and the women who worked hard bearing and raising large families and praying that their men would return unharmed from the pits. The overwhelming sadness will tug at your heartstrings – and to make this story more poignant, it really happened.
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  1. Print length
    196 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    July 3, 2012
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.45 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1478102551
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1478102557
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carmel McMurdo Audsley is an Australian Journalist, Editor and Author who lives in Brisbane with her husband Iain. They both had Scottish fathers, share a mutual love of Scotland and have walked in the footsteps of their ancestors in the country that they love to visit. As a Newspaper Journalist and Magazine Editor, Carmel has written and had published thousands of news stories and feature articles and has now turned her research and writing skills to digging up the past and breathing life into the characters she finds. Ours, Yours and Mines is her first historical fiction novel in a trilogy about the mining families of Ayrshire Scotland. Carmel now devotes all her writing and editing time to producing Scots News Magazine for ex-pat Scots in Australia, and researching and writing historical fiction.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 3, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 196 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1478102551
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1478102557
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.45 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 53 ratings

About the author

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Carmel McMurdo Audsley

Carmel McMurdo Audsley

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5-star Reviews on Amazon:

“If more history was written this way we would all love it.”

“A gifted writer who creates strong characters and really puts you at the heart of their story.”

“An excellent, well-crafted story.” “The attention to detail is first rate.”

Carmel McMurdo Audsley is an Australian Author and Journalist who lives in Brisbane. In a career as a Newspaper Journalist and Magazine Editor she has written and had published thousands of news stories and feature articles and has now turned her research and writing skills to bringing the past to life in historical fiction novels.

Her first series of three novels follows a family in Scotland through several generations, from the late 1600s to the 1950s. From witchcraft, to transitioning from farmers to coal miners living in the miners' rows of Ayrshire Scotland, the series is based on real people, places and event.

THE UNDERTAKER series sees a young woman, Kate, take over her father's undertaking business in Edinburgh in 1858 and, with a little help from a spirit friend, Kate sets out to find a murderer. In the second book, Kate befriends a woman who has spent her life living as a male doctor. In the final instalment Kate takes on the University of Edinburgh in a bid to allow women to study medicine. Of course, being Kate, there are also murders to solve.

THE LAST HURRAH is the story of two elderly people, both with terminal illnesses who decide to take one last cruise - and not return.

MURDER IN THE BUSH is based on the true story of young Scotsman William McDonald who moves to Australia with the hope of owning a sugar plantation. To earn money quickly he takes up an opportunity to drove horses hundreds of miles across uncharted territory in Queensland Australia, and meets his death at the hands of a madman.

SEVEN DEADLY SINNERS, published in 2019, is a closed-room murder mystery set in outback Australia in 1957. As drought gives way to flood, travellers are trapped in an old pub - one of them is a serial killer.

LATEST RELEASE: Her new historical fiction novel, CONVICTION, is set in Scotland in the late 1700s and Australia in the 1800s and was released on March 4, 2022.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
53 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

james loftus
5.0 out of 5 stars People Often Forget How Hard The Old Days Were
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2012
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Ours, Yours and Mines opens in the summer of 1861 and follows lives of the McMurdo's. A family, that would today thrive with their intellect, general hardiness, their work ethic, and their morals. However, these qualities cannot insure them against the terrible blights existing in 19th century Scotland. For those from the working classes options were few, and one of the most well paid was to be a coal miner - to work in the pits. To do so, a man had to be strong and be fearless. Trapped so far underground, working with the possibility of a mine collapse. Or, the escape of toxic vapours. The ever present damp. The lack of oxygen. Inhaling, the coal dust. These men basically sacrificed themselves for their families. Only a lucky few led long and healthy lives. As I said options were few. The McMurdo's, had central to their lives, generations of strong women who although beset by tragedies, deaths, one after another, create a loving haven for their loved-ones. There are days of summer and joy. Life is simple for the McMurdos and the gift of life is cherished, and enjoyed when it can be. But luck seem to desert them. The mines take their toll on the family and grandfather McMurdo dies in a freak drowning accident, subsequently only a part of his leg retrieved from a river, a macabre omen of impending doom. Mary McMurdo determined to break away from the mining life and its risks and what seems to be a cursed place, the Minder's Rows, escapes with her surviving family to Glasgow. Glasgow, where tuberculosis is sweeping through reaping from all walks of life taking young and old and particularly from the cramped unhealthy quarters, the cheap tenements of the poor.

The attention to detail is first rate. The author's deft hand puts forth very realistic depictions of the times. The story is for me very moving. The elegance of the language obviously written by a gifted writer with insight, is outstanding. The gift of story telling is in-born and this author obviously has been thus blessed.
7 people found this helpful
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georgiagrl
4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging historical novel
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2017
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All I can say is "wow". Ours, Yours and Mines is the fictional tale of the author's family tree. It follows several generations of her ancestors, interweaving historical facts to give a haunting description of what life was like for the families, men and boys who worked in Scotland's coal mines in the 1800s. This is an engaging story that was hard to put down and also, at times, hard to read because of the deaths and hardships. The author manages to wrap you up in the the people and their personalities. I love history and this book vividly brought it to life, so much so that I shed a few tears over the seemingly endless tragedy. You should definitely read this book if you have an interest in history.
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Mary Teresa
5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Heroes of History
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2018
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It pulled me in from the beginning. A memoir of the McMurdo family spanning several generations, many of whom have the same name, the writer does an excellent job of reminding us who is who and what ages they are at particular events, without interrupting the flow of the narrative, so that the reader doesn't get lost. It reads almost like a documentary, with frequent re-enactments. I found the story of the mining families of Scotland very informative, and it gave me a great respect for families who struggled through hard times and found strength to cope when life dealt cruel blows. We all read of heroes in history - usually Kings, Queens, great Generals - but the parents who got up and went to work every morning - he at a dangerous job for a low wage, and she in the endless cycle of washing, cooking and looking after young children, and going on with their duty even when they felt least like it - in sickness or tragedy - because they were needed - year after year, decade after decade - these are the real unrecorded heroes of history and I'm grateful to be reminded of them. It's humbling.
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Bill T.
5.0 out of 5 stars Another wonderful story.
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2017
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Thank you again, Carmel Audsley, for giving us a peek into your family's history. Follow The McMurdo family as they transition from farming in the first book to working in the mines of Scotland in this installment. History comes alive as you follow the McMurdos through triumph and many a tragedy as they struggle working in the dangerous coal mines. You get a glimpse of just how tough times were back then for working families. A tragic story with a hopeful ending wonderfully told.
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Anne McTurk Watrous
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2014
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Loved this book. My Great Grandfather was a miner from Cumnock . Highly recommend it and can't wait to read the sequel
One person found this helpful
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Nancy Grant
4.0 out of 5 stars Living in Scotland in the 19th Century
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2012
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This book will catch your interest from the first chapter. The author had presented the living conditions of the families of miners in Scotland in an easy to read format. If your family came from a mining community in Scotland during this time than this is a must read! The story of this family, the joys and the sorrows, is captivating. Well written and easy to read.
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Billy
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2017
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It’s a book that delves into the history of Scotland. What more do we need to say?

Fabulously written and giving us a peek into the lives of the McMurdo family, we follow them as they work down the mines. Mines have a rich history in Scotland. Some of my (still alive) relatives were miners and badly affected by the strikes of the 1980’s. It’s interesting then to go farther back and have a little look at that.

It takes a very rich writer (I don’t mean in the financial sense) to weave together various factual strands from a by-gone-era and merge it with a real sense of drama and insight. We really get a feel for who the McMurdo family are and what ails them. Carmel Audsley is a gifted writer who creates strong characters and really puts you at the heart of their story.

Highly recommended.
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Daryl L. Frame
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting aspect of Scottish history
Reviewed in Canada on March 18, 2014
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This book offers a wonderful glimpse into the reality of the family lives of miners in Ayrshire, Scotland. Well researched & a very worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in Scottish social history of the 19th century.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved everything about this book - and read far into ...
Reviewed in Australia on August 5, 2014
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I loved everything about this book - and read far into the night because I couldn't put it down. As a social history, it's outstanding, taking you into the homes and lives of the people who live on Miners Rows. It gives you a wonderful understanding of how hard life was, how tough the people were - and how little they had. It shows how important the love and support of not only the family, but the whole community was, in order to sustain life. It also shows how little the workers meant to the mine owners. If a man was killed in the mines, the wife and children ( usually many children as they had big families then) were evicted from their home. There was no insurance, no compensation, no sympathy.
Carmel's descriptions of the miners' homes and the towns they lived in made you feel as though you were actually there.
This book is a wonderful read - and I immediately bought the 2nd book - and read it in 2 days!
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Kevin McAllion
4.0 out of 5 stars Touching, albeit bleak, family saga
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 5, 2017
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This family saga is written straight from the heart as the Australian author retraces the footsteps of her Scottish ancestors. Given that most of the book is set in the Ayrshire mining communities of the 1800s, it's perhaps no surprise that life was tough for the succession of McMurdos we become acquainted with. But the hardships that befall poor Mary McMurdo throughout a harrowing life are incredible grim, even by the standards of the time. At the start of the book Mary isn't even a McMurdo, going by the name of Hamilton, and her own mother has plans for her that are far loftier than marrying into mining stock. But she falls for the charms of George McMurdo at a village dance and thus begins a journey that takes her far deeper into darkness than the brave men who venture down the pit every day to earn a meager living. Amidst all the despair there is also great warmth and love though as the author paints a vivid picture of a close-knit family. You read on hoping things get better for the McMurdos, even though you realise there is probably more heartache around the corner. In this sense it reminded me of Angela's Ashes, although it lacks the eye for detail and humour that comes from Frank McCourt's first-hand experience of growing up in such troubled times. Carmel McMurdo Audsley does her ancestors proud though, especially the redoubtable Mary, a stronger woman I have never come across in fiction or life itself. As a Scot myself, I was a bit unsure if the Australian author would get the dialogue and atmosphere right but she has done an excellent job. You get a real sense of the community and the people, while there is also a nod to politics through the family's friendship with Kier Hardie, the founder of the Labour party. As a proud lefty myself, it was great to read about a politician who genuinely fought for the working man and tried to make the world a better and safer place for them. It was also rather depressing though as it reminded me how the values he founded the party on have now been completed eroded, leaving modern-day workers with nobody to fight their corner.
Throughout the endless succession of births, marriages and deaths that provide the plot of this book, Mary is always there to fight for her family. Her passing marks the end of the novel but not the end of the McMurdo story as the author leaves a little teaser for book No.2. Having thoroughly enjoyed my time in their company, I will definitely be back to see what life holds for the McMurdos throughout the 20th century.
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davie-d
5.0 out of 5 stars bring the past to life
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2012
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My own family research has taken me back to Muirkirk in the mid 1800's, my family also miners, also suffered tragedies down the pits and because of the pits. They could have and probably did live only doors away from the McMurdos. Reading this book has brought my own research to life. Helping put words into the mouths of my relatives makes it even more enjoyable as a read.

But this isn't a book only to be read by genealogists.

As a novel this makes an excellent read, well written, well researched and keeps you interested to the end. Follow the McMurdo's through several hard years as they encounter drama after drama, heartache after heartache and still keep together as a family. Living in hard times they endure their hardships as a family, united till the end. I only hope there will be more of the McMurdo's journeys in the near future.
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