The Convict Laundress

by Mary Theresa Vidal

The Convict Laundress by Mary Theresa Vidal. Originally published in 1852

Genres: Classics, Religion

150 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1852

About the author

Mary Theresa Vidal was a British–Australian writer described as Australia's first female novelist.

Reviews

[Lizzy Chandler]

A short story recounting the sad tale of a working class Irish woman, Grace Allen nee M'Lean, who experiences bereavement and goes from a life of respectability to taking solace in alcohol, being convicted of a crime and transported to New South Wales. Her struggles to regain moral status are interspersed with what is characterised as temptations of the devil - alcohol and opium - and she ends her life in a "lunatic asylum". The narrator is a woman of the house who encounters Grace during her period as a convict servant.