The Grim and Tragic Story of Life in an Australian Penal Colony
Told with great force, it is a narrative of great suffering - of whips, chains and man's inhumanity. There is no attempt to soften the truth of degradation and dark cruelty in convict Australia. And yet the novel is filled with life, and peopled with vivid characters. Rufus Dawes, condemned to transportation for a crime he did not commit, is one of the unforgettable characters of Australian literature.
