This book is a six part Starz miniseries which has been adapted from Elanor Catton’s award winning book and given below will contain spoilers about it.
The Luminaries isn’t about a post-WW2 era nurse surviving back in 1743 or a Medieval member of the royal family, but a bunch of 19th century gold diggers (like actual, gold diggers) trying to make it big.
Devoted readers who checked the title out even felt compelled to take to the internet to have some of the finer points of the narrative spelled out for them — and it looks like similar head trips are employed in order to fake out the audience and keep them guessing in the Starz show.
It’s revealed that Carver has killed Crosbie Wells by poisoning him with an overdose of laudanum. The trial also reveals that Emery Staines basically robbed Carver of his money. The trial culminates with Anna being acquitted of all crimes and Staines being sentenced to nine months of hard labor. Meanwhile, Carver will have to spend years in prison.
However, if you thought that series bad guy, Carver, is going to just spend a few years behind bars and eventually make his way out into society, then think again. On his way to prison, he’s ambushed by Te Rau Tauwhare, who bashes in his head with a greenstone as retribution for Carver’s murder of Crosbie Wells.
As everyone else goes off to fulfill their respective sentences, Walter Moody is finally ready to leave Hokitika to begin his life of gold prospecting.
