Collection
Status
Available
Publication
Currey O'Neil (1984), Edition: Reprint
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Historical Fiction. HTML: Discover an often-overlooked period in history with this sweeping epic exploring the period when Australia served as a penal colony. Packed with exhaustively researched historical detail, this rip-roaring yarn will leave your head spinning with its many twists, turns and surprises..
Subjects
Awards
Australia's Greatest Books (1885)
Original publication date
1871
ISBN
085550580X / 9780855505806
Similar in this library
Other editions
For the term of his natural life by Marcus Clarke (Paper Book)
For the term of his natural life by Marcus Clarke (Paper Book)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Figgles
So far THRILLING! Yes and continued on as such, evocative, horrifying, sentimental, an emotional roller coaster. Ends a little improbably and abrubptly but evidently the published novel is only half of the original serialised as "His Natural Life". Contrast with English Passengers is stark - this
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is a far better book! Show Less
LibraryThing member GirlFromIpanema
First review of this classic australian book on LT, and not by an Australian? Anyway, here goes:
I read this book in a German translation (from an East-German publisher, complete with socialist commentary on the issue of transportation and penal colonies in a capitalist system). The translation was
A gripping story about one man that gets wrongly accused of murder and transported to the Antipodes. I remember watching the mini-series in the 1980s and really getting angry, and the same feeling came back while reading the story of Rufus Dawes, who always loses, despite being a good man with the best intentions. The system of penal colonies and the rules applied within the system did not allow for people to really redeem themselves. You might survive and get back home if you kept a low profile, but Dawes who unintentionally got involved in a mutiny on the way to Australia never gets a chance to prove that he is indeed innocent.
Despite its age, a gripping read.
I read this book in a German translation (from an East-German publisher, complete with socialist commentary on the issue of transportation and penal colonies in a capitalist system). The translation was
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very good (unlike the cr*p we are served by some publishers today), although the original version I now own is much more authentic in its true 1840s style.A gripping story about one man that gets wrongly accused of murder and transported to the Antipodes. I remember watching the mini-series in the 1980s and really getting angry, and the same feeling came back while reading the story of Rufus Dawes, who always loses, despite being a good man with the best intentions. The system of penal colonies and the rules applied within the system did not allow for people to really redeem themselves. You might survive and get back home if you kept a low profile, but Dawes who unintentionally got involved in a mutiny on the way to Australia never gets a chance to prove that he is indeed innocent.
Despite its age, a gripping read.
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LibraryThing member SaraAnn05
It took me a little while to get into this book, but once in I was gripped. The story doesn't really get going until Rufus is on the prison ship. To me this is a story of the human spirit and how it can survive in the most desparate of situations. Rufus, is a wronged man and is constantly being
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crushed but he still manages to retain something of himself throughout. Also the writer must have done a tremendous amount of research, because the descriptions of the penal system in Australia make you feel like you're there, the heat, the dirt, everything. Show Less
LibraryThing member madepercy
This classic Australian novel is based on a good deal of historical research. This particular version includes an appendix outlining the references for the historical information in each chapter. The story is rather gripping and although the coming together of the main characters at the climax is
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rather unlikely, it serves to render a sound plot. The conclusion wraps up a sad story with a paradisiacal ending that is satisfying if not happy. That Clarke died at age 35 serves as a reminder that such genius is routinely short-lived. Despite the numerous abridged versions and part-stories I have experienced of this novel in film and television, this is my first full reading and it was long overdue. Show Less
LibraryThing member mbmackay
I was inspired to re-read this early Australian novel after a recent visit to Port Arthur and Macquarie Harbour.
The incredible plot coincidences may have been common in that era, but they just seem odd to modern readers. I found the book started slowly, with the author struggling to get on top of
The incredible plot coincidences may have been common in that era, but they just seem odd to modern readers. I found the book started slowly, with the author struggling to get on top of
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the long-format writing. But it improved considerably during the book. I loved the skewering characterisation of the foppish vicar, Meekin; while the vivid description of Mr North's battle with the bottle seemed surely to be autobiographical. Show Less
LibraryThing member ibazel
only the subject matter saves it from being a forgotten piece of moralistic Victoriana
LibraryThing member therebelprince
It's fair to say that this quintessential work of 19th century Australian fiction is a bit dreary and dry to a lot of modern readers. Still, I first read this as a boy and still come back to it every now and then: a poignant melodrama that, despite its occasional silliness or longueurs, provides us
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with constant insight into the lives and thoughts of the first generations of white Australians. They still connected so much with the "empire", and yet already a very different society was emerging Down Under. Fantastic stuff. Show Less