Historical fiction not nonfiction. ( )

Meticulous research, great storytelling - from streets of Glasgow to great grandmothers in Australia follows the lives of three female convicts. ( )

I have divided feelings about this book.

On one hand, I found it fascinating, because it is an unusual topic and well researched.

On the other hand, while reading I kept thinking that the author must have had access to family records or diaries to know what the women were thinking. I felt cheated when I realized that the author had fictionalized the book somewhat, as it calls into question the accuracy of the rest. ( )

In the early to mid-1800s, women “criminals” were transported from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales to Tasmania (a small island off Australia) to serve their time. Of course, almost none of them came home when they served their time. Not only that, a large number of these criminals were merely stealing food or clothing because they couldn’t afford it.

This book takes a look at a few of these women throughout their lives – how they grew up and what caused them to steal, which caused them to be sent to Tasmania; it followed them into the horrible gaols of the time; and it followed them to Tasmania – their time imprisoned, as well as a short section on how they lived after they were freed. There was also a Quaker woman who, ahead of her time, realized the horrible conditions these women were living in in the jails, and worked hard to make things better for them, as much as she could.

I found this very interesting. I knew that criminals had been sent to Australia, but I had never before read any of their stories. It’s pretty sad how little it took to be charged and sent away. ( )

Just prior to the reign of Queen Victoria, the British government attempted to solve two of its problems (the threat of losing its Australian colonies due to a lack of colonists and a massive underclass of working poor forced to steal simply to survive) by transporting its prisoners to the far-flung colonies and forcing them to serve their time there. Some 25,000 of these transportees were women (their dependent children were often transported, too), most convicted of petty theft. Their lives in Britain were miserable and cruel, prison was worse, the transport itself was dangerous, and the life awaiting them was no improvement. Swiss uses the stories of a few women to illustrate the whole situation, and does a remarkable job. It's impossible to read about these women's lives and not be moved by their sheer stubborn survival. Awesome book. ( )