The Fatal Shore
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:2nd Jan '03
Should be back in stock very soon
'An extraordinarily vivid yet authentic account of the birthpangs of a nation. A work of real distinction' Philip Ziegler
An epic description of the brutal transportation of men, women and children out of Georgian Britain into a horrific penal system which was to be the precursor to the Gulag and was the origin of Australia.
A landmark history that confronts Britain’s colonisation of Australia.
In The Fatal Shore, historian and critic Robert Hughes offers a vivid, unflinching account of Britain’s colonisation of Australia; a history built on the forced transportation of convicts and the dispossession of Indigenous peoples. Drawing on meticulous research, Hughes recreates the harsh realities of the penal system, the endurance of those sent to the colonies, and the profound human cost of empire.
‘An enthralling account… brimming over with rare and pungent characters, and tales of pathos, bravery, and horror’ Peter Matthiessen
‘A unique phantasmagoria of crime and punishment, which combines the shadowy terrors of Goya with the tumescent life of Dickens' Peter Ackroyd, The Times
A unique phantasmagoria of crime and punishment, which combines the shadowy terrors of Goya with the tumescent life of Dickens * Peter Ackroyd, The Times *
A triumph of research, passion and fine writing. I found it an extraordinary and compelling book to read, one of fantastic scope and imagination; truly a tour de force * William Shawcross *
Riveting * The Book Magazine *
With its mood and stature...The Fatal Shore is well on its way to becoming the standard opus on the convict years * Sydney Sunday Telegraph *
An enthralling account of the convict settlement of Australia, thoroughly researched and excellently written, brimming over with rare and pungent characters, and tales of pathos, bravery, and horror * Peter Matthiessen *
Popular history in the best sense...its attention to human detail and its commanding prose call to mind the best work of Barbara Tuchman * Washington Post *
ISBN: 9780099448549
Dimensions: 198mm x 130mm x 38mm
Weight: 572g
720 pages