Bound for Botany Bay: British Convict Voyages to Australia by Allan Brooke and David Brandon

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Ex library copy with external stickers removed. Partial date due slip on inside page. Some pages have minor marks on them. Dust jacket has minor creasing at edges and spine.

A riveting and enlightening account that offers a fascinating insight into the plight of those bound for Botany Bay.

One of the strengths of this book is how we’re offered accounts from various perspectives: letters from the families of convicts, official records & court reports, journals of ships’ surgeons, and diaries of the convicts themselves, among others.

There are some heart-rending stories (particularly those involving young offenders separated from their families), but also those with a happy ending, as convicts who had served their time but had little hope of returning to a decent life in their own country were able to start afresh in a land of opportunity.

As well as being meticulously researched and therefore offering a wealth of intriguing facts, this account offers a narrative that’s as compelling as any historical novel. (publisher blurb)