To the convicts arriving in Van Diemen's Land, it must have felt as though they'd been sent to the very ends of the earth. In Tasmania's Convicts Alison Alexander tells the history of the men and women transported to what became one of Britain's most notorious convict colonies.
Following the lives of dozens of convicts and their families, she uncovers stories of success, failure, and everything in between. While some suffered brutal conditions, most served their time and were freed, becoming ordinary and peaceful citizens. Yet, over the decades, a terrible stigma became associated with the convicts, and they and the whole colony went to extraordinary lengths to hide it. The majority of Tasmanians today have convict ancestry, whether they know it or not. While the public stigma of its convict past has given way to a contemporary fascination with colonial history, Alison Alexander debates whether the convict past lingers deep in the psyche of white Tasmania.
'.a beautifully written and penetrating account of an important aspect of Australia's past.' - The Age
By:
Alison Alexander Imprint: Allen & Unwin Country of Publication: Australia Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 153mm,
Spine: 28mm
Weight: 450g ISBN:9781743318720 ISBN 10: 1743318723 Pages: 328 Publication Date:26 February 2014 Recommended Age: From Audience:
General/trade
,
College/higher education
,
ELT Advanced
,
Primary
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
Map Introduction 1 Birth of a convict colony 2 Convicts in Britain and on the high seas 3 Convicts under assignment in Van Diemen's Land 4 Convicts after sentence 5 Convict and free 6 The transportation debate 7 The convict stigma 8 Initial efforts to defeat the convict stigma 9 Forgetting the past 10 For the Term of His Natural Life 11 The One Forbidden Subject 12 'A thing of which we may well feel proud' 13 Paving the way 14 Out in the open Appendix 1: How many convicts left Van Diemen's Land? Appendix 2: People mentioned in the text Acknowledgements Notes Select bibliography Index
