Abandoned Women: Scottish convicts exiled beyond the seas

Scottish convicts exiled beyond the seas

Nonfiction, History, Australia & Oceania, British
Cover of the book Abandoned Women: Scottish convicts exiled beyond the seas by Lucy Frost, Allen & Unwin
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lucy Frost ISBN: 9781742695754
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Publication: January 23, 2012
Imprint: Allen & Unwin Language: English
Author: Lucy Frost
ISBN: 9781742695754
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Publication: January 23, 2012
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Language: English

From the crowded tenements of Edinburgh to the Female Factory nestling in the shadow of Mt Wellington, dozens of Scottish women convicts were exiled to Van Diemen's Land with their young children. This is a rich and evocative account of the lives of women at the bottom of society two hundred years ago. 'Her superb research and sympathetic reconstructions of nineteenth-century Scotland and Australia bring to life a long-forgotten but fascinating group of women.' - Siân Rees, author of The Floating Brothel. In the early nineteenth century, crofters and villagers streamed into the burgeoning cities of Scotland, and families splintered. Orphan girls, single mothers and women on their own all struggled to feed and clothe themselves. For some, petty theft became a part of life. Any woman deemed 'habite & repute a thief' might find herself before the High Court of Justiciary, tried for yet another minor theft and sentenced to transportation 'beyond Seas'. Lucy Frost memorably paints the portrait of a boatload of women and their children who arrived in Hobart in 1838. Instead of serving time in prison, the women were sent to work as unpaid servants in the houses of settlers. Feisty Scottish convicts, unaccustomed to bowing and scraping, often irritated their middle-class employers, who charged them with insolence, or refusing to work, or getting drunk. A stint in the female factory became their punishment. Many women survived the convict system and shaped their own lives once they were free. They married, had children and found a place in the community. Others, though, continued to be plagued by errors and disasters until death.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

From the crowded tenements of Edinburgh to the Female Factory nestling in the shadow of Mt Wellington, dozens of Scottish women convicts were exiled to Van Diemen's Land with their young children. This is a rich and evocative account of the lives of women at the bottom of society two hundred years ago. 'Her superb research and sympathetic reconstructions of nineteenth-century Scotland and Australia bring to life a long-forgotten but fascinating group of women.' - Siân Rees, author of The Floating Brothel. In the early nineteenth century, crofters and villagers streamed into the burgeoning cities of Scotland, and families splintered. Orphan girls, single mothers and women on their own all struggled to feed and clothe themselves. For some, petty theft became a part of life. Any woman deemed 'habite & repute a thief' might find herself before the High Court of Justiciary, tried for yet another minor theft and sentenced to transportation 'beyond Seas'. Lucy Frost memorably paints the portrait of a boatload of women and their children who arrived in Hobart in 1838. Instead of serving time in prison, the women were sent to work as unpaid servants in the houses of settlers. Feisty Scottish convicts, unaccustomed to bowing and scraping, often irritated their middle-class employers, who charged them with insolence, or refusing to work, or getting drunk. A stint in the female factory became their punishment. Many women survived the convict system and shaped their own lives once they were free. They married, had children and found a place in the community. Others, though, continued to be plagued by errors and disasters until death.

More books from Allen & Unwin

Cover of the book Tessa Kiros: The recipe collection by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book A Short History of Stupid by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book Missing Christopher by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book Things That Matter by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book Tuck In by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book Inventing Australia by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book Taking Care of Business by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book Mystic Medusa's Astroscape 2010 by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book Captain Thunderbolt and His Lady by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book Leadership for the Disillusioned by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book The Journalist's Guide to Media Law by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book Danger Close by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book The Brotherhoods by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book We Band of Brothers by Lucy Frost
Cover of the book Headstarts by Lucy Frost
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy