BOOK REVIEW: Finding Eliza by Heather Whitford Roche

Synopsis

Everything Knill thought he knew was false. Now he must search for where he belongs...

1921. Central Victoria.

Knill McMillan’s life is perfectly ordinary: a country upbringing, caring parents, cousins who are his best mates. He is a young man with the world before him.

But he’s always had the sense he doesn’t quite fit in, doesn’t quite belong. And then one night he is brutally beaten. As he lies bleeding on the ground his attacker calls him something that he is unable to get out of his

BOOK REVIEW: Captain Cook's Apprentice by Anthony Hill

In August 1768 His Majesty's Bark Endeavour, with Lieutenant James Cook as its captain, departed from Plymouth, England, primarily to observe the Transit of Venus from Tahiti.

In 2018, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of this, one of the greatest voyages of discovery ever made, Penguin Books released a new edition of Anthony Hill's 2008 novel, Captain Cook's Apprentice

Synopsis (From the back cover)

The enthralling story of Captain Cook's voyage to Australia, as seen through the eager eyes of a cabin

Book Review: Scapegallows by Carol Birch

Scapegallows is the fictionalised story of Margaret Catchpole, a horse thief, who escaped the hangman's noose twice and was eventually transported to Australia in 1801, for life.

If you hale from Suffolk, U.K., you will probably be familiar with Margaret Catchpole's legendary status. In Ipswich there is a Grade 2 listed public house bearing her name, which reflects her connection to the brewing family, the Cobbolds.

In Australia, she is venerated as one of the country's first midwives and her letters are a great source for historians due to their descriptions of early nineteenth century life in the colony. A maternity ward at the Hawkesbury Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, is aptly named in her honour.

Margaret Catchpole was born into a family of Suffolk tenant farmers in Nacton, a village on the banks of the River Orwell. Her life had its share of hardship and family tragedy. Some of her misfortunes were the result of her own impetuous decisions and the company she kept.

Uneducated, Margaret found work as a servant, but her life improved greatly when she was employed by the Cobbold family as a children's nurse and then cook. Here, she learned to read and write and became a valued member of the household. Even when imprisoned and transported, she still remained in the family's affections and kept up a correspondence with Mrs. Cobbold.

Margaret's greatest weakness was her love for Will Laud, a boat builder and sailor turned smuggler. Will Laud is in and out of Margaret's life for various reasons, sometimes for years, but she remained loyal to him. As romantic as this sounds, this devotion proved to be her downfall.

For a novel described as "a wonderful adventure story", I'd expected a much faster pace than the slow, ambling read it was. My interest did wane three-quarters through, but I persevered to the end. While my emotions weren't totally engaged, I did enjoy this novel for its historical value: the social history of 18th century Suffolk and the life of one of Australia's convict pioneers.

An Australian at Waterloo: Lieutenant Andrew Douglas White

The Battle of Waterloo, 1815
William Sadler II [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

June 18th, 2015, is the bicentennary of The Battle of Waterloo. Unfortunately circumstances and “the tyranny of distance” prevent me from attending any of the events being held in Europe and England to mark this day, though there is an event being held closer to home tonight at the aptly named The Hero of Waterloo, the oldest existing public house (pub) in Sydney.

However, I thought I would make my own personal commemoration of this day in history by way of a Waterloo post and went searching for an Australian connection to this battle. I’d expected the usual ones: veterans of Waterloo transported as convicts or arriving as free settlers; serving soldiers being posted to the colony; suburbs, streets, landmarks and buildings named for the battle, such as the aforementioned pub, but I wasn’t expecting to find an Australian who was actually there on the battlefield. Imagine my excitement when I found that a Lieutenant Andrew Douglas White fought at Waterloo and came through unscathed.

Andrew Douglas White was born in Sydney Town in 1793. He was the illegitimate son of convict, Rachel Turner, and First Fleet naval surgeon, John White, who later became Surgeon-General for the whole colony of New South Wales.

While some sources say that John White took his fifteen month old son with him when he returned to England in 1794, other sources quote that Andrew was sent to England when he was six years old.

In 1812 Andrew joined the army as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1813, the same year he was posted to the Continent with the British Army.

At Waterloo Andrew served as the junior officer of the Royal Engineer staff and afterwards continued to serve as part of the Army of Occupation until 1818.

In 1822, Andrew returned to Sydney to be reunited with his mother whom he hadn’t seen since childhood. He remained in Australia for the next two years, then returned to England. He received another promotion in 1826 to second captain and was put on half-pay in 1831.
 
Andrew returned to Sydney in 1833, married in 1835, but sadly died in November, 1837. His Waterloo medal, which he received in 1816, was willed to his mother, who only outlived him by a year.

Andrew Douglas White is buried in the Liverpool Pioneer Cemetery, New South Wales. His chest tomb bears the following inscription:

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF
CAPTAIN A.D. WHITE
OF THE ROYAL ENGINEERS
WHO DIED 27TH NOV. 1837
AGED 44 YEARS

The only Australian at Waterloo, he is also considered to be Australia's first returned serviceman. I'm sure a few glasses will be raised to his memory at The Hero of Waterloo tonight!

Book Review: A Cargo of Women: The Novel by Babette Smith

From the back cover:

England, 1828. Susannah Watson is forced to steal to feed her starving children. Ann Kinsman steals because her man tells her to. Sarah Bryant steals to bring a little colour into her drab and miserable existence. Sentenced to transportation, they become part of the cargo of women convicts aboard the "Princess Royal", bound for Botany Bay.

In New South Wales they find a community which offers them opportunities beyond their dreams - or degradation to match the worst they left behind. As they struggle to come to terms with their lives as prisoners and learn to endure their servitude, they draw comfort and support from each other. Working as assigned servants, incarcerated in the notorious Female Factory, fighting to protect their children, caught up in the passion and heartache of love, the women's lives continue to overlap and interweave.

Babette Smith's original non-fiction work A Cargo of Women: Susannah Watson and the Convicts of the Princess Royal,  was inspired by her discovery of a convict ancestor. This history of convict women and their lives as prisoners received great reviews, but Babette Smith's decision to turn Susannah Watson's story into a novel received mixed reactions. I, for one, am glad she did.

Susannah Watson, mother of four children, the youngest still a baby, is  sentenced to "fourteen years transportation beyond the seas". She is one of a hundred women transported on the Princess Royal, some of whom have been transported for life. However, regardless of the length of their sentences, all know they will never return to England. Many of the women are philosophical about their plight and others rail against the cruel injustice of it all. Some see it as a chance for a better life, others carry on their lives of crime where they left off.

Babette Smith's research on the lives of the women convicts show that they were mostly from the lower classes of society, the young and not so young, repeat and first time offenders. Unlikely friendships were formed in gaol and on board ship.

Conditions en route to Australia were not ideal, though the surgeon did his best to prevent sickness by ensuring the convicts were allowed on deck regularly and urged them to keep themselves and their living quarters clean.  Not only did the women have to survive the poor food and cramped conditions, they also had to be wary of the different factions below decks. Prostitution was still a bartering tool for some to gain extra rations, privileges or their all important supply of alcohol.

The novel is an insight into the social conditions of the time. England, still recovering from  the Napoleonic Wars, is in the grip of the industrial revolution where traditional cottage industries are being replaced by machines in factories. The population is growing, poverty and sickness, prostitution, alcoholism and crime still rife. In Australia, conditions are much the same for the lower classes.

The Female Factory at Parramatta offered a slight improvement in the women's living conditions, as that it provided food and shelter, but life was still harsh, and convicts once assigned were reluctant to return here. It is interesting how the system worked and how it could be manipulated by the convicts themselves.

Once started I couldn't put this novel down. Susannah Watson's  story is one of many, but she had the strength of character and determination to make the most of her situation, despite being separated from her husband and other children, and suffering more tragedy and loss in Australia.

This was an engrossing story of a subject largely ignored until recent times. Babette Smith dispels many of the myths regarding women convicts with this excellent work. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it for those interested in Australian history.

 A Cargo of Women: The Novel  is Book #3 of my commitment to the 2014 Australian Women Writers Challenge

Book Review: The Dark Mountain by Catherine Jinks

Synopsis

The story of two fiercely strong women, mother and daughter, one determined never to explain her choice and the other equally as determined to dig deeply and unrelentingly for the truth.

Born into a life of privilege, Charlotte Atkinson is raised by her widowed mother on a vast and wealthy estate near Sutton Forest, New South Wales, enjoying an idyllic early childhood in the great stone house still known today as Oldbury.

But in the summer of 1836, a violent incident in the Belanglo wilderness sets off a chain of events that transforms Charlotte’s existence. Inexplicably, her mother is prompted to marry again, thereby surrendering her property, fortune and offspring to Charlotte’s vicious and degenerate new stepfather, George Barton. His presence turns Oldbury into a place of madness and terror, casting a shadow so long that it continues to haunt Charlotte for years after his mysterious death.

My Thoughts

Charlotte, the eldest of the Atkinson children, is the narrator of the story and through her eyes and thoughts are seen the consequences of her mother marrying her overseer, George Barton. Oldbury, once happy and prosperous, slides into ruin by Barton's mismanagement. He is a drunkard  and violent, feared not only by the family, but also by the convict work force.

This marriage brings so much misery to the Atkinson family that like Charlotte I asked what was the reason for it. Unfortunately there is never a clear answer given to this question and I was still left wondering at the end of the novel, though a mature age Charlotte  appears to gain an insight into her mother’s actions.

Throughout the novel Charlotte’s mother is forever battling  the trustees of Oldbury for money and guardianship of the children. As Charlotte grows older she is constantly at odds with her mother and cannot forgive, what she sees as the ultimate betrayal, her mother’s marriage to Barton. Desperate to understand, Charlotte is forever defying her mother, in an attempt to force an explanation.

The atmosphere of the novel is at times menacing, Oldbury  is built in the shadow of  Gingenbullen Mountain. It borders the Belanglo forest, where bushrangers roamed, and is still a notorious place today.  John Lynch, Australia’s first serial killer, also has a link to Oldbury, and  the evil presence of George  Barton adds further to the menace.  All these things have an effect on the impressionable young Charlotte and it is no wonder that she comes to dislike the home she once loved and, at times, her mother whom Charlotte blamed for her estrangement from the family.

I was totally engrossed in this story and sympathized with Charlotte. How her life would have been easier had her mother taken the time to explain, but for some reason her mother did not wish to do so. Society was quick to condemn those that stepped out of its boundaries and Charlotte and her mother, so much alike, shared this fate.

I was disappointed that no reason was ever given for the marriage of Charlotte's mother and George Barton, but this added to the suspense and kept me reading with the hope that all would be revealed at the end. However, even without a neat ending, the story was still powerful and I have no qualms in recommending this novel, a tale of one of Australia's colonial families, as a great read.

The Dark Mountain is Book #2 of my commitment to the 2014 Australian Women Challenge.

Book Review: Behold, New Holland! by Rix Weaver

I stumbled across this novel by accident. It was advertised in the back of a book I had just finished reading and I was surprised that I had not heard of this author before.

First published in September 1940, Behold, New Holland! tells the story of one family’s arrival in Western Australia and their first nine years  in the colony. This was Rix Weaver's debut novel.

Henry Mabie, an ex-British Army Officer, disenchanted with the Government of a post Napoleonic War England, wishes to protect his wealth and is convinced that to do so his family would be better off in Australia.  His brother, Jep Mabie, a soldier, recently returned from an expedition to Australia on board HMS Success, is also excited about the potential and opportunities available in the new colony and encourages his brother to emigrate.

Henry becomes part of a scheme by Thomas Peel to colonize Western Australia and in 1830, accompanied by his pregnant wife, Susan, his four sons, two daughters, his sister, Jane, and "Nanny", sails on the Rockingham, for the Swan River settlement.

The novel describes the hardships of the early settlers and the trials the Mabie family face: being shipwrecked on arrival in the new colony, desertion by their contracted labour, near starvation from loss of stock and crop failures, and personal tragedy. A further series of set backs sees their money disappear so that returning to England is not an option. 

Henry Mabie is a typical 19th century gentleman, who as head of the household sees his word as law and expects to be obeyed. Susan is a typical 19th century wife, deferring to her husband in all things.

And then we have Jane Mabie. A most delightful character, who is “ ... decidedly versatile in feminine coquetry, was neither shy nor demure. She didn’t fit in with the general rule. Rather than droop modest eyes she opened them with wide interest in the world about her and accepted pretty compliments with very apparent satisfaction.”

Rix Weaver in an interview expressed her opinion that women should have a role outside motherhood and this view is reflected in the character of Jane Mabie, who is not content to take a lesser role in colonizing and has no reluctance in voicing her opinions on political, family and personal matters, completely at odds with how a young woman was expected to conduct herself in the early 19th century.

Jane often antagonizes and exasperates Henry because of her outspokeness and also her refusal to marry, despite having received some very favourable offers. Her arrival in the colony causes a stir among the single men, especially the soldiers, who vie for her attention. At times she seems empty headed and at others possessed of a mind well beyond her years. This is not surprising as the span of the novel sees Jane mature from a girl of 16 to a young woman of 25. Her enthusiasm and determination to see the colony succeed forms an integral part of this novel. 

The descriptive passages of the land evoke images of an unspoiled landscape and one so different to that of England. Through Jane’s eyes we see its strangeness and its beauty.

While being a first class history of Western Australia, woven through this novel is also the romance between Jane Mabie and military officer, Captain Gratton Hird, who meets Jane and her family while on Government business. Both are stubborn, which makes for an interesting relationship.

Rix Weaver’s research into the history of the Swan River colony cannot be faulted, though she has taken liberties with some facts as she acknowledges in the Author’s Note. Her love of her home state and the recognition she gives to the early settlers is evident in her writing.  

I found this novel to be well written in a style that gives it an authentic 19th century feel. This added to its charm, along with the flowing narrative and a great cast of characters: a very enjoyable read.

The story of the Mabie family continues in the sequel, New Holland Heritage. I borrowed both books from my local library, though I did discover that  Behold, New Holland! and New Holland Heritage were combined and released in 1979 by Angus and Robertson under the title of Theirs to Bestow.

Behold, New Holland! is Book#1 of my commitment to the  2014 Australian Women Writers Challenge.