Physical description

472p. ; beige cover with title and author embossed on black on the front cover

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

Australian edition : Note: This edition is especially issued by the Proprietors of the Copyright for circulation in the Australian colonies ; circular stamp 'Linton Free Library'

London Publisher - Richard Bentley and Son, Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen

Summary

The story follows the fortunes of Rufus Dawes, a young man transported for a murder that he did not commit. The book clearly conveys the harsh and inhumane treatment meted out to the convicts, some of whom were transported for relatively minor crimes, and graphically describes the conditions the convicts experienced. The novel was based on research by the author as well as a visit to the penal settlement of Port Arthur, Tasmania.