A Commonwealth of Thieves

Front Cover
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Dec 4, 2007 - History - 400 pages
In this spirited history of the remarkable first four years of the convict settlement of Australia, Thomas Keneally offers us a human view of a fascinating piece of history. Combining the authority of a renowned historian with a brilliant narrative flair, Keneally gives us an inside view of this unprecedented experiment from the perspective of the new colony’s governor, Arthur Phillips. Using personal journals and documents, Keneally re-creates the hellish overseas voyage and the challenges Phillips faced upon arrival: unruly convicts, disgruntled officers, bewildered and hostile natives, food shortages, and disease. He also offers captivating portrayals of Aborigines and of convict settlers who were determined to begin their lives anew. A Commonwealth of Thieves immerses us in the fledgling penal colony and conjures up the thrills and hardships of those first four improbable years.
 

Contents

Section 1
3
Section 2
19
Section 3
36
Section 4
76
Section 5
88
Section 6
96
Section 7
110
Section 8
123
Section 16
218
Section 17
230
Section 18
245
Section 19
257
Section 20
270
Section 21
279
Section 22
289
Section 23
295

Section 9
135
Section 10
161
Section 11
171
Section 12
186
Section 13
190
Section 14
197
Section 15
204
Section 24
305
Section 25
320
Section 26
339
Section 27
363
Section 28
369
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About the author (2007)

THOMAS KENEALLY has won international acclaim for his novels Schindler’s List (the basis for the movie and the winner of the Booker Prize), The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Confederates, Gossip from the Forest, The Playmaker, Woman of the Inner Sea, A River Town, Office of Innocence, and The Tyrant’s Novel. His most recent works of nonfiction are The Great Shame and American Scoundrel. He resides in Sydney, Australia.

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