The Broad Arrow : Being The Story Of Maida Gwynnham, A 'Lifer' In Van Diemen's Land

by Oliné Keese, Caroline Woolmer Leakey

The tragic story of a young woman transported for a crime she did not commit...

Some fifteen years before Marcus Clarke's classic For the Term of His Natural Life was first published in 1874, this equally moving story of a female convict and her life in Van Diemen's Land had already appeared.

It is a tale of how the young and beautiful Maida Gwynnham falls victim first to an unscrupulous lover and then to a terrible misunderstanding with the police. As a result of these events, she is charged with "the wilful murder of her child". Tried and found guilty, she is condemned to be transported

for the term of her natural life..

349 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1859

About the author

Pen-name of Caroline Woolmer Leakey.

Reviews

[Liz]

Read this back in 2008 as part of my honours thesis.

[BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a review in Dutch, see No Dutch copy available: Fiction never translated into Dutch/Flemish

Almost 13 years ago I read His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke and although it has been on my shelves for ages, for some reason I never got around to reading The Broad Arrow by Oliné Keese (pseudonym of Caroline Leakey). Until recently, that is, and it was definitely worth reading!

The two books are similar but at the same time completely different. The Broad Arrow focusses far more on the daily life of convicts in Tasmania, and can certainly be seen as a complaint against the system and the treatment of the convicts, which, considering its age (it was first published in 1859, 15 years before His Natural Life), is rather surprising.

Contrary to His Natural Life, The Broad Arrow focusses on a female convict, and there is no 'happy ending', as there was in the original version of His Natural Life. The Broad Arrow makes a very interesting read and is certainly to be recommended for anyone interested in convict literature, especially if one wants to learn more about the whole government policy on convicts at the time.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is out of print, however Dodo press has resuscitated it and it should be better known. In the genre of Tasmanian convict novels, I found this book to be much more interesting than the better known book For the Term of His Natural Life. Elements of the narrative were borrowed by the later publication, For the Term of his Natural Life. For the Term of his Natural Life is sometimes characterised as Tasmanian Gothic. This book has a more domestic focus, following the plight of a woman convict from conviction to transportation and then life in Hobart as an assigned servant to free settlers. It has a critical attitude to the convict system and colonisation--highly recommended.

[Elizabeth Carboon · Rating 4 out of 5]

First written in 1859, is written in the old english way of speaking. The tragic story of a young woman transported to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania)for the term of her natural life for a crime she did not commit.