The First Fleet: The Real Story by Alan Frost

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor wear to book corners and edges. Previous owner has stamped inside page. Tiny blue spot on top foredge. Faint mark on tail right foredge.

In 1787 a convoy of eleven ships, carrying about 1500 people, set out from England for Botany Bay.

According to the conventional account, it was a shambolic affair: under-prepared, poorly equipped and ill-disciplined. Robert Hughes condemned the organisers' "muddle and lack of foresight", while Manning Clark described scenes of "indescribable misery and confusion".

Alan Frost draws on previously forgotten records to debunk these persistent myths. He shows that the voyage was, in fact, meticulously planned - reflecting its importance to the British government's secret ambitions for imperial expansion.

Frost examines the ships and supplies, passengers and behind-the-scenes discussions. In the process, he reveals the hopes and schemes of those who planned the voyage and the experiences of those who made it. (back cover)