For the Term of His Natural Life

Front Cover
Allen & Unwin, Sep 1, 2012 - Fiction - 438 pages
For the Term of His Natural Life is the classic Australian novel of convict life. Relating the intricate and savage interplay between the gaolers and the gaoled, Marcus Clarke weaves the tragic tale of his wrongfully convicted hero Rufus Dawes. This unforgettable account of the barbarous days of early white settlement has at its heart the enduring belief in the strength of the human spirit and the capacity for love to overcome adversity.
 

Contents

PREFACE
PROLOGUE
The Sea1827
The PrisonShip 2 Sarah Purfoy
The Monotony Breaks
The Hospital
The Barracoon
The Fate of the Hydaspes
John Rexs Revenge
Left at Hells Gates
Mr Dawes
What the Seaweed Suggested
A Wonderful Days Work
The Coracle
The Writingon the Sand BOOK THREE Port Arthur1838
A Labourer in the Vineyard

Typhus Fever
A Dangerous Crisis
Womans Weapons 10 Bells 11 Discoveries and Confessions 12 A Newspaper Paragraph BOOKTWO Macquarie Harbour1833
The TopographyofVan Diemens Land
The Solitary of Hells Gates
A Social Evening
The Bolter 17 Sylvia 18 A Leap in theDark
The Last of Macquarie Harbour
The Power of the Wilderness
A Natural 50 A Visit 51 Gathering in the Threads 52 Running the Gauntlet 53 In the 54
The Seizure of the Osprey
Sarah Purfoys Request
The Story of Two Birds of Prey
The Notorious Dawes
Maurice Freres Good Angel 29
Mr Meekin Administers Consolation
Dawess Idyll 37 An Escape 38 John Rexs Letter Home
What Became ofthe Mutineers ofthe Osprey
Against the Pricks 46 Captain and Mrs Frere 47 In the Hospital
The Consolations of Religion Penitentiary
of Inspection Night Flight 55 The Work of the Sea 56 The Valley of the Shadow of Death
Copyright

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About the author (2012)

Marcus Clarke is best-known for his classic novel of the convict system, For the Term of His Natural Life, although he also wrote numerous essays, stories and plays and edited literary journals.

Born in London, educated as a gentleman and expected to enter diplomatic service, his father's mental and financial collapse in 1862 saw the young Clarke shipped off to relatives in Australia. After experiencing both city and country life, he returned to Melbourne to try to succeed as a writer. He wrote theatrical criticism for the Argus before commencing a regular column for its weekly, the Australasian.

In 1870 Clarke was sent to Tasmania to research the history of the convict system for the Argus. After producing a series of historical articles for the Australasian, he began writing For the Term of His Natural Life, which began its serialisation in the popular fiction magazine, the Australian Journal.

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