Marcus Clarke

Wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit, a young aristocrat is sent to pay his dues in Van Diemen's Land. As a criminal in this new colony, Richard Devine is forced to endure tremendous suffering and inhumanity, from the baseless cruelty of those in power to the harsh brutalities of an untamed country. Yet, with enduring human spirit...

Scarcely out of print since the early 1870s, For the Term of His Natural Life has provided successive generations with a vivid account of a brutal phase of colonial life. The main focus of this great convict novel is the complex interaction between those in power and those who suffer, made meaningful because of its hero's struggle against his wrongful...

First published in 1874, For the Term of His Natural Life is a powerful tale of an Australian penal settlement. This compelling story originally appeared in serial form in a Melbourne paper. The narrative follows Rufus Dawes, a young man transported for a murder which he did not commit. The harsh and inhumane treatment handed out to the convicts, some...