New South Wales, 1817. Margaret Catchpole is stranded at a settler's homestead as the floodwater draws in, and she finds herself facing death - as she has several times before. She looks back over her life - the complex and stormy partnership with Will Laud, a 'hell-born-babe', that led her into the world of smuggling and in to a double life. After Will is forced to flee the country, Margaret is taken on as a nursemaid by the wealthy Cobbold family, but a crime against them means she is tried and sentenced to hang. She avoids death but when an elaborate gaol escape fails, Will is shot dead and Margaret captured. Sentenced once more to hang, she looks death full in the face. But she doesn't die.
Her sentence is transmuted to transportation for life to Australia. The novel explores a deeply divided society. Ironically, by reaching the lowest depths and being cast out by the society which spawned her, Margaret finds her true role as an independent pioneer in a young colony.
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"The story of Margaret Catchpole born into a smuggler's world in Suffolk 1762. A true story. Margaret leads a double life that brings about her downfall, sentenced to hang not once but twice she is transported to Australia with other convicts." — Velvetink (4 out of 5 stars)
"The story of Margaret Catchpole born into a smuggler's world in Suffolk 1762. A true story. Margaret leads a double life that brings about her downfall, sentenced to hang not once but twice she is transported to Australia with other convicts."
" One of the finest books I have ever read. "
" Based on a true story set in the 1700's. Smuggler Margaret Catchpole. Would read another by author. "
" It has everything...English servants and pirates and deportation to Australia. "
" Great story, based on fact - some excellent writing from Carol Birch though in the end I wasn't totally convinced by her main character. "
Carol Birch is the author of many novels and She has won the David Higham Award for Life in the Palace and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for The Fog Line, as well as being shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2010.
Anna Bentinck is a British actress who trained at Arts Educational Schools and has worked extensively for BBC Radio. Winner of four AudioFile Earphones Awards, she has provided voices for many audiobooks and such animated series as 64 Zoo Lane. Her film credits include Alice in Wonderland and To the Devil a Daughter.
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