The Potato Factory Books in Order

The books gathered under this series trace a sprawling family saga that begins in the slums of early nineteenth‑century London and stretches through transportation to Australia and the First World War. Together, The Potato Factory, Tommo and Hawk and Solomon's Song are often referred to as Courtenay's Australian Trilogy.

The Potato Factory opens in the crowded lanes and docksides of London, where the infamous fence Ikey Solomon runs a criminal empire buying and selling stolen goods. Alongside him is Mary Abacus, a brilliant young woman who starts as a serving girl, survives a stint in a brothel and uses her knack for numbers to become Ikey's bookkeeper and partner. Their relationship is complicated by Ikey's lawful wife, Hannah, whose bitterness turns into a lifelong vendetta.

As the law closes in, these characters are swept into the convict system that feeds Britain’s Australian colonies. Mary is transported to Van Diemen's Land, where she endures the brutal discipline of the prisons before using her brewing skills and business sense to build a new life on Hobart’s waterfront. The pub she founds, called The Potato Factory, becomes the heart of a community and the stage for ongoing clashes between her and Hannah's branch of the Solomon family.

In Tommo and Hawk the focus shifts to the next generation. The story follows two brothers with tangled Solomon bloodlines, kidnapped and separated as children and eventually reunited as teenagers in Hobart. Restless and unwilling to accept the narrow futures on offer, they sign on to whaling ships, fight through the Maori wars in New Zealand and are caught up in the chaos of the Australian gold rush. Their bond is constantly tested by violence, addiction, loyalty and the pull of very different destinies.

Solomon's Song brings the families into the twentieth century and onto the battlefields of the First World War. Young men from both sides of the clan enlist, carrying their inherited grudges with them to Gallipoli and the Western Front. The novel weaves together trench warfare, home‑front politics and the slow emergence of a distinct Australian identity, all while asking whether generations of hatred can ever be put to rest.

Across the trilogy you’ll find vivid depictions of convict ships, penal settlements, whaling stations, mining camps and military campaigns. The tone can be rough and earthy, with plenty of dockside slang, humour and cruelty alongside moments of tenderness.

It’s a series for readers who enjoy big, messy, multi‑generational stories where history and family drama are inseparable. To get the full effect of the characters’ journeys, it’s best read in publication order starting with The Potato Factory.