Tag Archives: History

Book Review – Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley and Harry Whittaker. The Seven Sisters Series

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Atlas: the Story of Pa Salt is the eighth book in the Seven Sisters series. This series has been a reading highlight for me. As I was reading the seventh book, not realising there was an eighth book, I was feeling quite disappointed that the series was about to come to an end. When I discovered that there was an eighth book, about the Dad of the girls, I was overjoyed. There were so many questions in my mind, from each of the seven books, and Atlas answered all those questions nicely, giving me closure.

About The Seven Sisters Series

The Seven Sisters series was inspired by the Seven Sisters of Pleiades, from Greek Mythology. Each mythological figure was, in it’s own right, unique and powerful, as were each of The Seven Sisters. According to legend, the mythological sisters, were highly fertile and had many children with various gods, who were struck by their strength and beauty. Lucinda Riley was drawn to the stories of the mythological seven sisters and wanted to celebrate the achievements of women throughout history.

Each book in The Seven Sisters series is rich in historical detail, with very detailed plots. The Seven Sister series at 5371 pages, is a huge time commitment, and not one that I would usually make, but after reading the first book in this series I was hooked. Each book left me impatient to know about the next sister. As I closed the book, after reading the final page, I felt that there were further revelations waiting in the background to be solved. I did wonder, if perhaps, there will be an unexpected 9th book. That would be wonderful, as I’m not yet tired of reading about the wonderful characters in the series.

Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

The above comments also apply to Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt. As I read through the series, I was desperate to know more about Pa Salt. Even though Pa Salt was a constant through all seven series, he was mostly in the background, and we didn’t learn much about him.

Atlas was co-authored by Lucinda Riley’s son, Harry Whittaker, due to the death of his mother. I wasn’t sure how it would work to have the continuing story mostly written by a different author. Apparently, Lucinda Riley, left very detailed information about how she wanted the story written. To be truthful, as I read this wonderful book, I really didn’t notice the difference in author. Harry Whittaker’s writing used the same voice of each of the girls, as in the first books, written by Lucinda

As with each books in The Seven Sisters series, the plot is very intricate and quite complicated, with a very deep emotional depth. Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt concludes with a story that sweeps across many decades and continents and is told in two time frames – the 1920s and today.

I expect this book to be one of my biggest reading highlights for 2024.It will take a very, very good book to beat it.

Link to Reviews of The Seven Sisters

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley #1

The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley #2

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley #3 and #4

The Seven Sisters Series by Lucinda Riley #5 #6 #7


Star Rating 

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unputdownable. Would read it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic read. Not to be missed

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyable. Would recommend it.

⭐️⭐️ Wouldn’t read it again.

⭐️ Don’t recommend this book at all.

The books mentioned in this post is of my own choice and has not been sent to me to review. My opinions are my own and I receive no renumeration at all for them.

Have you read this book? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I promise to always reply to comments made below.

To keep up with the latest book reviews, please pop your email into the box in the side bar. This will ensure you are notified of all updates.

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Book Reviews: Seven Sisters Series #3 and #4

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The Seven Sisters series is loosely based on the mythology of the star constellation known as the Pleiades, or more commonly, the Seven Sisters. The books follow the exploits of a group of adopted siblings who, following the death of their father, follow the clues he left them, that would enable them to find their birth families. These clues take them to different places around the world and lead them to families, and situations that they mostly would never have expected to find. Each novel is stand alone, and it’s not at all necessary to read the complete series, but I would recommend that they each be read, starting with #1.

There are common themes that run through all Seven Sisters books with variations, depending on the personal story of each sister, and their birth background.

Some of the common themes are:

  • Finding their true identity and heritage after being adopted by a mysterious billionaire
  • Dealing with family secrets, betrayals, and tragedies that span generations and continents.
  • Overcoming their fears, and insecurities that prevent them from finding happiness.
  • Exploring different countries and cultures as they follow the clues to their past.

The Shadow Sister – Seven Sisters #3

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The third of the Seven Series books tells the story in two timelines, of one of the sisters, Star D’Apliese and Flora MacNichol, two women who are connected by a mysterious inheritance and a very old secret. She follows the clues left to her by her father, which lead her to London. There she meets a family, and learns about their ancestor, Flora, who lived in the Edwardian era and had a close relationship with King Edward VII. There Star finds a connection to her own family.

The Pearl Sister – Seven Sisters #4

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Pearl Sister, follows CeCe D’Apliese, who struggles after the death of her father. The clue he left her leads her to Australia, where she tries to discover not only her past, and her birth family, but who she is and where her sense of belonging lies. This book is filled with evocative details of Australia including the people, the animals and nature. The story is seamlessly wound around the setting and the need to find family. The past and the present exist in two timelines, which are simple and easy to follow.

My Thoughts

After reading four books in this series, I haven’t tired of reading about The Seven Sisters. I have really enjoyed the historical aspects of these stories and the search for long lost families. These books are all long and average about 700 pages, but once starting them, I haven’t been able to put them down. Each of them has gotten under my skin, and I’ve found myself disappointed when I’ve read the last page. I have been trying to space them out, so the fun lasts a bit longer, but now that I’m getting closer to the last book, I’m finding that I just can’t wait to pick up the next book.

Links to reviews of book #1 and book #2
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley – Seven Sisters #1
The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley – Seven Sisters #2

Star Rating 

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unputdownable. Would read it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic read. Not to be missed

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyable. Would recommend it.

⭐️⭐️ Wouldn’t read it again.

⭐️ Don’t recommend this book at all.

The books mentioned in this post is of my own choice and has not been sent to me to review. My opinions are my own and I receive no renumeration at all for them.

Have you read this book? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I promise to always reply to comments made below.

To keep up with the latest book reviews, please pop your email into the box in the side bar. This will ensure you are notified of all updates.

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Book Review: The Ship’s Midwife by Peta Miller

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The Ship’s Midwife
by
Peta Miller

Summary

When Sarah set off from Ireland in 1850, headed for a new life in Australia, she could not have foreseen the events that were ahead of them, and how much her life would be changed by them. However, firstly, they had to endure the crowded and uncomfortable conditions of the voyage. It wasn’t long before the ship was taken over by disease, and Sarah, and her friend Bridie spent the voyage caring for the patients, and being stretched to their limits. They had been looking forward to new adventures in Australia, however while on board ship their survival looked to be in doubt. They could only hope that they were able to survive long enough to reach Australia where they would start their lives over again.

When the ship and it’s passengers arrived in Australia, they were directed to quarantine for a few weeks at Stradbroke Island. There had been no preparations made for them, and it was with relief that they eventually were able to start their new lives in Brisbane.

My Thoughts

The Ship’s Midwife is a gripping and emotional story of survival loss and love based on a true story of a ship which arrived in Australia in the 19th century, with typhus on board. I really enjoyed reading about their first days on Australian soil, firstly on the island, which was totally different to what they had expected when leaving Ireland, and the beginnings of their life in Brisbane.

Historical fiction is my favourite genre, and this books ticks off everything I enjoy about it. The story is based on a true story of an emigrant ship that came to Australia, and is meticulously researched. The main characters are strong women, who are doing all they can to make their way in the world.

Peta Miller is a first time author, and I enjoyed her story so much, that I will be looking forward to her next book. I have no hesitation in recommending this survival story as a great read.

Star Rating

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book. For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unputdownable. Would read it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic read. Not to be missed

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyable. Would recommend it.

⭐️⭐️ Wouldn’t read it again.

⭐️ Don’t recommend this book at all.

© 2023 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

K: Kin: A Real Person’s History Of Our Nation by Nick Brodie #atozchallenge #throwbackthursday

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The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge  is for bloggers who wish to participate by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been posted. My theme for 2023 is Book Reviews.

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

Many book bloggers re-post a book review that they have written in the past, under the #throwbackthursday hashtag. I will be joining them in this each Thursday.

The following book review was first published here in April 2020. This is a book that I enjoyed, and I feel warrants highlighting again.

KIN
BY
NICK BRODIE

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary

From convicts, goldminers and sailors, to high country horsemen, nurses and soldiers – and almost everyone in between – KIN is about generations of real people living real lives. Join historian and archaeologist, Nick Brodie, as he traces his family back to their first arrivals in Australia. As their lives intersect, KIN provides a unique historical insight into Australia’s past: colonies grow and wars are fought as Nick follows his people and their children across land and sea, in their everyday occupations and through their hardships and most memorable events. Follow Nick’s journey to discover how his kinfolk lived, the bigger story of the history of Australia, as their stories become both his and ours. – blurb

Published 2019
Paperback, 448 pages

My Thoughts

The author uses stories about his own ancestors to create a full and thorough explanation of Australian history. I really enjoyed this book, but as family history and Australian history is my passion, be aware that I could be biased. I loved the ancestry charts included and really enjoyed following the lives of the author’s ancestors. Even though Kin is a very thorough history of Australia and of his own ancestors, it is very easy to follow.

Kin is based on very thorough research, both ancestral and historical. My only criticism would be that I’d have liked to have seen a list of sources at the back of the book. But this is addressed by the author at the end, where he gives his reasons for not including them.

Key to Star Rating

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Unputdownable. Would definitely read again
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Fantastic read. Not to be missed.
⭐️⭐️⭐️Enjoyable read. Would recommend.
⭐️⭐️Wouldn’t read again
⭐️Don’t recommend this book again

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

Images and author information: Goodreads

You can find my other blogs here:
Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

© 2023 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

B: Burke & Wills by Peter FitzSimons #AtoZChallenge #aussieauthor20

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Burke and Wills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Australia’s Most Famous Explorers

Summary

‘They have left here today!’ he calls to the others. When King puts his hand down above the ashes of the fire, it is to find it still hot. There is even a tiny flame flickering from the end of one log. They must have left just hours ago.

MELBOURNE, 20 AUGUST 1860. In an ambitious quest to be the first Europeans to cross the harsh Australian continent, the Victorian Exploring Expedition sets off, farewelled by 15,000 cheering well-wishers. Led by Robert O’Hara Burke, a brave man totally lacking in the bush skills necessary for his task; surveyor and meteorologist William Wills; and 17 others, the expedition took 20 tons of equipment carried on six wagons, 23 horses and 26 camels.

Almost immediately plagued by disputes and sackings, the expeditioners battled the extremes of the Australian landscape and weather: its deserts, the boggy mangrove swamps of the Gulf, the searing heat and flooding rains. Food ran short and, unable to live off the land, the men nevertheless mostly spurned the offers of help from the local Indigenous people.

In desperation, leaving the rest of the party at the expedition’s depot on Coopers Creek, Burke, Wills and John King made a dash for the Gulf in December 1860. Bad luck and bad management would see them miss by just hours a rendezvous back at Coopers Creek, leaving them stranded in the wilderness with practically no supplies. Only King survived to tell the tale.

Yet, despite their tragic fates, the names of Burke and Wills have become synonymous with perseverance and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. They live on in our nation’s history – and their story remains immediate and compelling.
– Goodreads

My Thoughts

This was a trip that was undertaken foolishly primarily due to lack of planning. But there was also what could be called a comedy of errors from when the trip was first brought up through all the planning stages and during the actual trip. Fitzsimons tells the story without  holding back on telling exactly what happened and who was to blame for the events that occured before and during this iconic exploration of Australia  I have had this book on my bookshelf since 2017 and was looking forward to reading it, but the time commitment to get through what could be called a ‘door stopper’ had me leaving it until another time. When I finally got to it, I read all 623 pages in just a few days. Fitzsimmons has a chatty conversational way of telling the events of history. This book is definitely not a dry text book style account of this important event in Australia history. He tells the story in the present tense which makes his accounts of historical events much more entertaining.

Burke and Wills contains many archival photos and maps, which really did add to my enjoyment of this book.

 Star Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

About the Author

Peter FitzSimons is one of Australia’s most prominent and successful media and publishing identities. His busy professional life involves co-hosting the breakfast program on Sydney’s Radio 2UE, writing weekly columns for the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun Herald newspapers, appearing on Foxtel’s Back Page television show and, when time permits, authoring best-selling books. A correspondent for London’s Daily Telegraph as well, he is also in high demand as a guest speaker and presenter
– Goodreads

Published on 31 October 2017 by Hachette Australia.
Hardcover 623 pages plus Endnotes and Index.

This review is linked to 2020 Aussie Author Challenge

To keep up with the latest book reviews, please pop your email address in the box on the sidebar. This will ensure you are notified of updates.

 

Links to my other blogs: https://nextphaseinfitness.com.au and https://jonesfamilyhistory.wordpress.com

© 2020 Copyright. All rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

 

Book Review: The White Earth by Andrew McGahan

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Summary

After his father’s death, young William is cast upon the charity of an unknown great-uncle, John McIvor. The old man was brought up, expecting to marry the heiress to Kuran Station—a grand estate in the Australian Outback—only to be disappointed by his rejection and the selling off of the land. He has devoted his life to putting the estate back together, and has moved into the once-elegant mansion.

McIvor tries to imbue William with his obsession, but his hold on the land is threatened by laws entitling the Aborigines to reclaim sacred sites. William’s mother desperately wants her son to become John McIvor’s heir, but no one realizes that William is ill and his condition is worsening.

Issues covered are Native Title legislation, the Mabo decison and Australian politics.

My Thoughts

When I first began to read this book, I had no idea what it was about. I wasn’t far into it when I realised this was the perfect book for me to read, in the week of Australia Day.

The setting is the Darling Downs in Queensland, spanning a time frame of 150 years. I really enjoyed the sense of place and landscape that this novel evoked. I loved it’s Australian-ness.

The publicity material describes this book as ‘part family saga, part history and part gothic thriller’. I agree with that completely. I do love a family saga and a historical novel, but the mention of gothic really had me intrigued. I’m not really interested in gothic or ghost stories, but I found the story to be entirely believable.

There is so much to this novel, including multiple themes but I would prefer to say less rather than more for fear of spoiling the reading experience for someone who picks up this book.

William was a lovely, beautiful, innocent young boy, but he was surrounded by very unattractive and flawed characters. This gave a dark and sinister feeling to the story. The characterisations by the author, I felt were brilliant.

I listened to this as an audio book. It didn’t lose any of the tension of gothicness in that form at all. The narrator, Edwin Hodgeman, an actor of many decades, was able to portray the darkness of certain characters and events in the story.

Recommendations

Winner of the Miles Franklin Award in 2005.
Winner of The Age Book of the Year Award in 2004

“…..The White Earth has all the trappings of a classic supernatural tale, and McGahan seamlessly blends the factual elements with the preernatural dimensions – the ghosts of black and white that haunt the landscape”  – The Age

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

About the Author

Andrew McGahan, was an Australian novelist, born 1966, in Queensland, Australia. He passed away in 2019 at age 52. He is  best known for his first novel Praise, and for his Miles Franklin Award-winning novel The White Earth. His novel Praise is considered to be part of the Australian literary genre of grunge lit.

This review is linked to lovelyaudiobooks.info
#2020 AussieAuthorChallenge

© 2019 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

#AtoZChallenge V: Voyage to Australia – Private Journal of James Bell

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#AtoZChallenge 2019 Tenth Anniversary blogging from A to Z challenge letter

The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge  is for bloggers who wish to participate by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been posted.

Summary

Private Journal of James Bell
Edited by Richard Walsh with an introduction and epilogue by Anthony Laube

This book is the personal diary of James Bell, who took the long voyage to Australia in 1838, leaving his family and friends, and not knowing what to expect of the new country, so far away.

The story of how this diary came to be published is incredible.  Firstly, it’s very survival  is worthy of mentioning.  The original diary turned up at a country bookstall in England, 150 years after it was written, and The State Library of South Australia managed to raise the necessary funds to buy the diary at auction.

James Bell , aged 21, set out in the sailing vessel, the Planter, from St. Katharine Docks in London to travel to Adelaide, Australia, an infant colony, half a world away and not yet two years old. He left behind family, good friends and the mysterious C.P, a young woman with whom he hoped one day to be reunited.

The voyage that James Bell undertook was meant to take about 130 days, but due to the incompetence of the Captain, and many misadventures along the way, it actually took six months to arrive in Australia. The many unforeseen events and dramas that occurred along the way, made the voyage extremely difficult. There was a mutiny, drunken fights, orgies and a storm resulting in the loss of the ship’s sails.

It is obvious in reading his words, that James Bell has a great sense of adventure. He also has a love of poetry, great religious faith, and is very nostalgic about his memories of those he left behind.

More than a century after the diaries were written, the reader can’t help but be reminded of the dangers of such an adventurous voyage. I am also reminded how lucky we are, that adventurous people like him, and like my ancestors, were brave enough to take the long voyage to a land that at the time was little known.

An excerpt from the preface written by James Bell:

“The following is not merely an account of the Ships course, and a mere mention of the places passed during my voyage to South Australia, but a noting down from day to day of the thoughts and ideas that occupied my mind at the moment – and my reason for this was that I might bring my observation of the events, as well as manners, to be more directly upon my own conduct, and in this way correct any thing that might be amiss, as well as tending to the strengthening of those principles, with which my mind has been imbued, as I am convinced that this is the best way of fixing occurrences upon the memory” – James Bell

 My Thoughts

The story of how the diary came to be published had me intrigued. I couldn’t wait to get into this book and when I did, I found it hard to put it down.

I really enjoyed James Bell’s descriptions of the other passengers and his very detailed account of their comings and goings. He doesn’t hold back at all, in expressing his opinion of most of them.

My interest and passion for genealogy and Australian history also contributed to my enjoyment of this book. I’m not really sure if readers without those interests, would rate this book as highly as I do. Perhaps I am slightly biased towards the subject matter.

For those who decide to read A Voyage to Australia, I hope you enjoy this beautifully presented book, as much as I did.

The Epilogue

The epilogue traces the lives of many of the passengers after they reached Australia, with information of how they coped with life in the new, unknown country. There is also a passenger list with names of all passengers and crew.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Published by Allen & Unwin in 2011.
Hardcover with dustjacket – 202 pages including bibliography

Have you read this book. If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I promise to always reply to comments made in the section below.

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img_7712-1

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#AtoZChallenge S is for Stasiland by Anna Funder

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#AtoZChallenge 2019 Tenth Anniversary blogging from A to Z challenge letter

The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge  is for bloggers who wish to participate by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been posted.

Summary

Stories from behind the Berlin Wall.

Shortly after the Berlin Wall fell, in 1989, East Germany ceased to exist, after the reunification of East and West Germany.  In Stasiland, Anna Funder tells the amazing tales of what life had been like in the former East Germany.

Anna Funder was working in Berlin, when she became interested in the fall of the Berlin Wall. She placed an advertisement in the newspapers, inviting people to be interviewed by her, about their experiences at the time. As a result, Funder met with both ordinary people, trying to survive, and members and ex members of the Stasi. The stories they told were truly intriguing and shocking.

“In this land
I have made myself sick with silence
In this land
I have wandered, lost
In this land
I hunkered down to see
What will become of me.
In this land
I held myself tight
So as not to scream.
-But I did scream, so loud
That this land howled back at me
As hideously
As it builds its houses.
In this land
I have been sown
Only my head sticks
Defiant, out of the earth
But one day it too will be mown
Making me, finally
Of this land.
-Charlie’s poem”
― Anna Funder, Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall

 

‘’Peter Fechter, the eighteen-year- old shot trying to escape in 1962 and left to die on the death strip, because each side thought the other would retaliate if they went to help him. Someone has thrown him a roll of bandages, but he lies immobile and bleeding.’’ – Stasiland

My Thoughts

I am a fan of Anna Funder’s novels, but her writing and the subject matter of Stasiland, touched me to the core. The stories in Stasiland read more like fiction, but because they are true, the harrowing nature of the stories some had to tell, are both horrifying and unimaginable.  This is a book I will definitely read again, but it had such a huge affect on me that I need a little space between the first and second reading.

Stasiland is extremely powerful writing at it’s best. I found it was like a punch to the stomach to read about the suffering that should never have happened. Anna Funder does not mince words at all. She tells it as it was, as  she takes us to the falling of the wall, which is earth shattering and very real to the reader.  The consequences of the fall and subsequent stories we read about the people who were living behind the wall at the time, are unforgettable.

Even though the subject matter is very heavy and dark and extremely sad, there are also many funny and bizarre moments to balance out the darkness. and unhappiness.

Recommendation

‘Anna Funder explores, in the most humane and sensitive way, lives blighted by the East German Stasi. She allows ex-Stasi operatives an equal chance to reflect on their achievements, and finds—to her dismay and ours—that they have learned nothing.’
— J. M. Coetzee, author

‘Stasiland is a brilliant account of the passionate search for a brutal history in the process of being lost, forgotten and destroyed. It is a masterpiece of investigative analysis, written almost like a novel, with a perfect mix of compassion and distance.’
– Elena Lappin, Sunday Times

My Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

About The Author

Anna Funder

 

Anna Funder was born in Melbourne in 1966. She has worked as an international lawyer for the Australian Government, focusing on human rights and constitutional law. She grew up in Melbourne and Paris and now lives in Sydney with her family.

Published in 2004 by Granta Books.
Paperback, 288 pages


Have you read this book. If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I promise to always reply to comments made in the section below.

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#AtoZChallenge 2019 Tenth Anniversary badge

This blog has been nominated for the Bloggers Bash Awards in the category of Best Book Review Blog. If you would like to vote for me click on the link below and scroll down to the Best Book Review Blog Section. You will find Best Bookish Blog there. I do appreciate you taking the time to vote.

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Images: Goodreads

1788: The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet

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Title:  1788 The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet
            The biggest single overseas migration the world had ever seen

Author: David Hill
Publisher:  William Heinemann
Date of Publication: 2008
Genre: Australian History
Number of Pages:  400, indexed with a chronology, bibliography and research notes. Photos and charts ;included.

Summary

Hill starts at the beginning, where he describes in great detail, the circumstances and events of life in Georgian England, that led to the decision to send convicts to start a new Colony in an unknown far away country. He conveys the excitement that must have been felt by the officials behind the biggest mass migration scheme ever seen. He sets the scene of life in England at the time that transportation began and the reasons for the decision to transport the convicts to a new land.

The agonizingly long preparations for the journey are covered in great detail, along with the effect this had on the convicts, and the fear they felt at setting out on an unknown journey, to the other side of the world, knowing that it was unlikely they would see their loved ones again. While waiting for the journey to begin, prisoners were being housed in ships at sea, close to land, due to the overcrowded conditions in the gaols. The conditions and hardships on these temporary prisons were also overcrowded and unhygienic.  As a result, many of the prisoners were in a poor state of health when the journey began.

We follow the First Fleet on the long arduous voyage of eight months, over very rough seas to the new unknown land. The 11 ships that transported the convicts, marines and officers in what were atrocious, overcrowded and mostly unbearable conditions. We get to know many of the convicts with outlines of the crimes they committed and their sentences. There were over 1500 people transported with food that was expected to last two years, along with equipment needed to build the new Colony.

We learn more about why they took the particular route they did and their experiences at their various stop-overs enroute. The political arguments of the day are also outlined so that we can understand the reasons for such long protracted preparations and the many delays that occurred.

The book also contains information about how Australia was settled after the arrival of the First Fleet, and the hardships, problems and deprivations that were encountered, which seemed to be insurmountable and caused much despair and conflict. Conditions of famine, after failure of crops to survive caused rations to be continually cut, until the new arrivals were surviving on very meager starvation rations. Hill outlines the struggle for survival in the early days and years, which led to many deaths and finally to the settlement of Norfolk Island.

The Aboriginal people are not forgotten in this book. To read of the interactions of the marines and officers with the Aboriginal community in the context of today’s standards and understandings, is quite startling. However we must remember this was a different time with a different set of values.

We meet Governor Phillip and the officers who were consigned to set up and govern the new country. The insight into Governor Phillip is far more personal than any I have read previously. After reading this book, I feel I understand him more, and why he chose certain actions and outcomes that are sometimes criticised.

The author has included a chronology of events surrounding the First Fleet, from 1717 until the death of Arthur Phillip in England in 1814. Research notes are also included along with a comprehensive bibliography and suggestions for further reading.

Many text books have been written about this subject, but David Hill has used diaries, manuscripts and newspaper reports from the time, along with characterization, to bring the story to life, and to cause the reader to feel empathy for the convicts, and those given the task of starting settlement. This is a story of courage, tragedy, survival and the endurance of all involved. It is also a story of the short sightedness and uncaring attitude of the decision makers in the planning stages. In effect the First Fleeters were dumped in a new land, and left to make the best of i,t and survive the best way they could.

My Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, as I am a lover of history, with a particular interest in the settlement of Australia. However, I was a little disappointed that there doesn’t seem to be any new information given at all. The information in this book could be found in many of the textbooks and histories currently available, if the reader could be bothered to look.

However, the author has written in such a way that this historical tale doesn’t read like a text book. It is written in the style of a novel, and is definitely a page turner. We meet many of the convicts and marines, and come to feel the pain they are suffering with the dreadful degradations and privations that they faced. The reader comes to understand and feel the hardships that the convicts and first settlers faced.

Recommendation

I would recommend David Hill’s book as an easy read and an introduction to Australian history for the new researcher. The subject matter can often be very dry and tedious to read, but the way the author brings the characters and events to life, makes it enjoyable and a page turner.  I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history, Australian history, genealogy or family history. My recommendation also extends to anyone interested in just a good read. Even without a special interest in the subject, this book would be worthwhile to read.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

About The Author

David Hill has had a successful career as Chairman and Managing Director of  the ABC, Chairman of the Australian Football Association, Chief Executive and Director of the State Railway Authority of NSW and Chairman of Sydney Water Corporation.  This is his second historical book. The first being The forgotten Children, which told the story of the children in England who were sent to Australia after World War 2, mostly without the consent of their parents.

Have you read this book. I’d love to hear your thoughts. I really appreciate the time it takes for you to comment and promise to reply to all comments.