What do you think?
Rate this book
The Girl From Botany Bay
On a moonless night in the early 1790s, prisoner Mary Bryant, her husband William, her two small children, and seven other convicts stole a twenty-foot longboat and slipped noiselessly out of Sydney Cove, Australia, eluding their captors.
They sailed north, all the way to Indonesia, traveling some thirty-six hundred treacherous miles in ten weeks—an incredible feat of seamanship. For a time, Mary and her companions were able to convince the local Dutch colonial authorities that they were survivors of a shipwreck, but eventually the truth emerged and they found themselves back in captivity, in irons, on their way to England for execution. In time, Mary's fateful journey would win her tremendous admiration. A woman once reviled as a criminal would become a London celebrity, ultimately finding forgiveness and freedom. In The Girl from Botany Bay , distinguished historian and biographer Carolly Erickson tells Mary Bryant's remarkable story at full length for the first time—the story of a woman whose impoverished Cornwall childhood led to a life of outlaw daring and thievery, then to harsh imprisonment and exile. Erickson recounts Mary's bold ventures from her point of view, beginning with her conviction and death sentence for highway robbery. Reprieved, she was sent to New South Wales to serve out her time, one of dozens of female convicts chosen as sexual companions for the hundreds of male convicts destined for settlement in the remote continent of Australia. From Mary's perilous sea journey to Botany Bay and Sydney Cove, to the inhuman conditions at the penal colony, to the risky escape to the Indonesian island of Timor and the horrors of the sail back to England—during which Mary's husband and two children died of disease—the story is harrowing yet heroic. With the dramatic narrative skill for which she is acclaimed, Erickson brings Mary and her companions to life in compelling detail. All the dangers of seafaring adventure are violent storms, near drownings, severe hunger and thirst, and the perils of relentless exposure to sun, wind, and salt spray that left the convicts with their skin scraped raw and their strength leached away. When she finally landed in England and testified before the magistrate's court, Mary was magnificent in her own defense. No one had the heart to condemn her; had she not, through her suffering, paid for her crimes? Impressed by Mary's sturdy self-possession and courage, lawyer and author James Boswell came to her rescue, ensuring that "the Girl from Botany Bay," as the newspapers called her, was freed and able to begin a new life. The epic story of Mary Bryant, the brave and resourceful girl from Botany Bay, is compelling narrative nonfiction at its very best.
They sailed north, all the way to Indonesia, traveling some thirty-six hundred treacherous miles in ten weeks—an incredible feat of seamanship. For a time, Mary and her companions were able to convince the local Dutch colonial authorities that they were survivors of a shipwreck, but eventually the truth emerged and they found themselves back in captivity, in irons, on their way to England for execution. In time, Mary's fateful journey would win her tremendous admiration. A woman once reviled as a criminal would become a London celebrity, ultimately finding forgiveness and freedom. In The Girl from Botany Bay , distinguished historian and biographer Carolly Erickson tells Mary Bryant's remarkable story at full length for the first time—the story of a woman whose impoverished Cornwall childhood led to a life of outlaw daring and thievery, then to harsh imprisonment and exile. Erickson recounts Mary's bold ventures from her point of view, beginning with her conviction and death sentence for highway robbery. Reprieved, she was sent to New South Wales to serve out her time, one of dozens of female convicts chosen as sexual companions for the hundreds of male convicts destined for settlement in the remote continent of Australia. From Mary's perilous sea journey to Botany Bay and Sydney Cove, to the inhuman conditions at the penal colony, to the risky escape to the Indonesian island of Timor and the horrors of the sail back to England—during which Mary's husband and two children died of disease—the story is harrowing yet heroic. With the dramatic narrative skill for which she is acclaimed, Erickson brings Mary and her companions to life in compelling detail. All the dangers of seafaring adventure are violent storms, near drownings, severe hunger and thirst, and the perils of relentless exposure to sun, wind, and salt spray that left the convicts with their skin scraped raw and their strength leached away. When she finally landed in England and testified before the magistrate's court, Mary was magnificent in her own defense. No one had the heart to condemn her; had she not, through her suffering, paid for her crimes? Impressed by Mary's sturdy self-possession and courage, lawyer and author James Boswell came to her rescue, ensuring that "the Girl from Botany Bay," as the newspapers called her, was freed and able to begin a new life. The epic story of Mary Bryant, the brave and resourceful girl from Botany Bay, is compelling narrative nonfiction at its very best.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2004
8 people are currently reading
454 people want to read
About the author
Carolly Erickson
32 books709 followersDistinguished historian Carolly Erickson is the author of The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette, The First Elizabeth, Great Catherine, Alexandra and many other prize-winning works of fiction and nonfiction. She lives in Hawaii.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/caroll...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/caroll...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
January 20, 2017
An interesting novel, about the life of Mary Bryant (Broad). Convicted as a highway woman and sentenced to being transported to Australia, this book really made feel the hardships she went through.
The book was written so descriptively that I could clearly visualise and sense the feelings of Mary's life.
There aren't too many books which focus on women's journeys to Australia as a fledging country, especially those who arrived as convicts. A thoroughly interesting read.
The book was written so descriptively that I could clearly visualise and sense the feelings of Mary's life.
There aren't too many books which focus on women's journeys to Australia as a fledging country, especially those who arrived as convicts. A thoroughly interesting read.
February 27, 2012
This is a book based on the life of Mary Broad/Bryant.Historical references are at the rear of the book .This has to be one of the best books I have ever read. I dont want to go into too much detail as it may spoil it for those who have not yet read it. It is about Mary's transportation to New Holland ( Australia) when the Island was first being colonised.It is based on a true story and actual events.It was a book I read in a matter of days due to the fact I could not put it down.IO would recommend everyone to read it .
December 20, 2025
The Girl from Botany Bay is a biography of Mary Bryant. She was the most successful convict to escape the Australian penal colony. There have been numerous movies, television series, and plays on her. In this biography, Mary Bryant’s name was originally Mary Broad. She was a highway robber and was sentenced to live in Australia. However, Mary would eventually escape and make her way back to England.
I have never heard of Mary Bryant before. However, I found her to be a very fascinating figure. Mary had suffered much hardship on the journey to Australia. During the journey, Mary had a daughter with a man named Mr. Spence. When Mary arrived, she married a fellow convict and a veteran seaman named William Bryant. The marriage was not serious. She bore him a son named Emmanuel. Together, they planned their escape from Australia. They used a fishing boat and after sixty-nine days, they reached Kupang. Once they reached Kupang, William and Mary had an argument. William then betrayed Mary and was recaptured by the British. Mary’s husband and children died on the way back to Britain. Once Mary arrived in England, her story fascinated the English, especially James Boswell. He helped secure her freedom. Therefore, I could not help but find Mary to be a fascinating and a strong historical figure.
Overall, this was a very comprehensive and engaging biography. I thought that Mrs. Erickson did an excellent job in showing the hardships of living in the penal colony of Australia. There were times that I thought that she speculated a great deal on what Mary Bryant was thinking and feeling. Nevertheless, I still found it to be a very easy and light read! It illuminated my understanding of a historical figure that I knew nothing about. The Girl from Botany Bay was a very thrilling and captivating story! I was entranced by the book from the very first page! I recommend this book for fans of A Cargo of Women, Fair Game, and The Tin Ticket!
I have never heard of Mary Bryant before. However, I found her to be a very fascinating figure. Mary had suffered much hardship on the journey to Australia. During the journey, Mary had a daughter with a man named Mr. Spence. When Mary arrived, she married a fellow convict and a veteran seaman named William Bryant. The marriage was not serious. She bore him a son named Emmanuel. Together, they planned their escape from Australia. They used a fishing boat and after sixty-nine days, they reached Kupang. Once they reached Kupang, William and Mary had an argument. William then betrayed Mary and was recaptured by the British. Mary’s husband and children died on the way back to Britain. Once Mary arrived in England, her story fascinated the English, especially James Boswell. He helped secure her freedom. Therefore, I could not help but find Mary to be a fascinating and a strong historical figure.
Overall, this was a very comprehensive and engaging biography. I thought that Mrs. Erickson did an excellent job in showing the hardships of living in the penal colony of Australia. There were times that I thought that she speculated a great deal on what Mary Bryant was thinking and feeling. Nevertheless, I still found it to be a very easy and light read! It illuminated my understanding of a historical figure that I knew nothing about. The Girl from Botany Bay was a very thrilling and captivating story! I was entranced by the book from the very first page! I recommend this book for fans of A Cargo of Women, Fair Game, and The Tin Ticket!
April 28, 2018
I did enjoy this book but I did have a few issues with the writing style. My main issue with it was that it seemed to be a weird cross between fiction and non-fiction. It is written like non-fiction, but there was too much conjecture for it to be a straight non-fiction. Perhaps it may be better as a novel based on true events?
The story was interesting though and it was a short read.
The story was interesting though and it was a short read.
April 1, 2025
I have read other non-fiction books by the author and like her. This was a good book about settling of Australia.
January 10, 2010
story of a British convict, spared hanging to be sent to the new penal colony in Australia. the women were sent to keep the male convicts from falling into immoral sexual behaviors. the author is able to fill in around the little that is know of the actual day to day of the heroine with immense amounts of historical detail, much of it gruesome stuff. the result is nonfiction that reads like a novel.
September 26, 2017
A fascinating true life story which testifies to people's ability to life through unbelievable hardship and fierce will to live while others give up and die because of it. You wonder what drives someone like this when it seems like things are just getting worse and worse. Too bad we don't now what happened to her after she supposedly returns to her home in rural England.
August 12, 2021
An historical account of the tragic incident involving Mary Broad of late 1700s Cornwall, England who was convicted of robbery and sentenced to the gallows. Her death sentence was commuted when she was chosen, along with a number of other convicts, to be transported to Australia in order to establish a penal colony there. Stealing a longboat from the colony, she and a few other convicts eventually escaped the colony and after a couple of months at sea made landfall at the Dutch colony on Timor. Her ordeal and hardship did not end there as she and her comrades were eventually recaptured and shipped back to England.
There was scant factual information available about Mary Broad, so the author took liberty in her speculations concerning motives and possible actions attributed to Mary. But where there was a dearth of information on Mary there was a trove of information for the author to draw upon to immerse the reader into the harsh conditions of the time and locales. From the draconian laws of Old England that would impose a penalty of death upon one convicted of the theft of a mere bonnet, to the months of barbarity as a prisoner ship bound for the other side of the world, to the few years of hard labor living within an uninhabitable and inhospitable country, to the rigors of being adrift on the open sea in a long boat for over two months, the author weaves together a tale of adventure, daring, hardship, and loss. An engrossing tale that held me in its grasp until the end.
There was scant factual information available about Mary Broad, so the author took liberty in her speculations concerning motives and possible actions attributed to Mary. But where there was a dearth of information on Mary there was a trove of information for the author to draw upon to immerse the reader into the harsh conditions of the time and locales. From the draconian laws of Old England that would impose a penalty of death upon one convicted of the theft of a mere bonnet, to the months of barbarity as a prisoner ship bound for the other side of the world, to the few years of hard labor living within an uninhabitable and inhospitable country, to the rigors of being adrift on the open sea in a long boat for over two months, the author weaves together a tale of adventure, daring, hardship, and loss. An engrossing tale that held me in its grasp until the end.
December 19, 2018
I can agree a bit with other reviewers that Erickson sometimes strays into Mary's conscious thoughts, places where the writer cannot know for certain or speak with authority. This happens more in the beginning of the book, or when Erickson is trying to establish a setting. She covers herself by using "may." Sometimes, she forgets in favor to drawing some feeling upon the reader. I can understand why, but it wasn't a hindrance to my enjoyment.
My criticism is that for a book about Mary Broad, convict turned eventual celebrity, there's very little of Marry. There's not even something about Mary. She's as much an enigma at the conclusion as she is at the start. Erickson acknowledges this, which makes me wonder why tell this from Mary's point of view save for that celebrity, that "in" to the book's publicity? Why not tell this as an account of the convicts who escaped New Holland, and in turn, reach for something higher than a character who's suffering was no doubt great, but not necessarily moving in a narrative way? I came away liking the book, but that faded in the hours afterward. Now, I like it okay, I guess.
As a writer, Erickson is fine in this book. The prose moves quickly and I could visualize the exotic locales and conditions. I could've done with less repetition, like "cheek to jowl." Minor thing, really.
Overall, good for a read.
My criticism is that for a book about Mary Broad, convict turned eventual celebrity, there's very little of Marry. There's not even something about Mary. She's as much an enigma at the conclusion as she is at the start. Erickson acknowledges this, which makes me wonder why tell this from Mary's point of view save for that celebrity, that "in" to the book's publicity? Why not tell this as an account of the convicts who escaped New Holland, and in turn, reach for something higher than a character who's suffering was no doubt great, but not necessarily moving in a narrative way? I came away liking the book, but that faded in the hours afterward. Now, I like it okay, I guess.
As a writer, Erickson is fine in this book. The prose moves quickly and I could visualize the exotic locales and conditions. I could've done with less repetition, like "cheek to jowl." Minor thing, really.
Overall, good for a read.
August 22, 2025
Short read, I’ve been busy or I could have finished it quicker.
Chronicles the true story of Mary Broad (later Bryant), an Englishwoman sentenced to transportation to Australia for theft in the 1790s. Prison hulk and transport ship horrors were described, but not too graphically. Still not fun reading. I knew life for a prisoner was terrible at that time, but I didn’t know it was this bad. The journey was difficult and the penal colony not prepared, so the prisoners and guards were focused on survival, as is the book. Mary & some others make an escape attempt- this is what makes her famous. Also harrowing, but like everything else in the book (prison life in 18th century, assault/sexual assault, starvation, fear, deaths)- not graphic, just factual- I think everything was handled at a PG/PG13 level of writing. There are 35 pages of footnotes.
So nothing in the book was about anything light— except a nicely written passage about the Great Barrier Reef—but I did look forward to reading it to see what happened next. I learned some things, and I kept sharing & discussing bits with my husband (who did not read it but also found it interesting) and that’s why I gave it 4 stars. Doubtful I would read again but worth reading once.
Chronicles the true story of Mary Broad (later Bryant), an Englishwoman sentenced to transportation to Australia for theft in the 1790s. Prison hulk and transport ship horrors were described, but not too graphically. Still not fun reading. I knew life for a prisoner was terrible at that time, but I didn’t know it was this bad. The journey was difficult and the penal colony not prepared, so the prisoners and guards were focused on survival, as is the book. Mary & some others make an escape attempt- this is what makes her famous. Also harrowing, but like everything else in the book (prison life in 18th century, assault/sexual assault, starvation, fear, deaths)- not graphic, just factual- I think everything was handled at a PG/PG13 level of writing. There are 35 pages of footnotes.
So nothing in the book was about anything light— except a nicely written passage about the Great Barrier Reef—but I did look forward to reading it to see what happened next. I learned some things, and I kept sharing & discussing bits with my husband (who did not read it but also found it interesting) and that’s why I gave it 4 stars. Doubtful I would read again but worth reading once.
November 14, 2022
This was a really interesting story about a subject I knew nothing about. Mary Broad, was arrested for robbery in 1786 and transported to the new penal colony in Australia. The story offers a reality check as to what prisoners endured during these times. Mary's story was probably a unique one, gaining her a bit of celebrity status documented in the few pieces of her history we have today.
The stories of torture and abuse were very difficult to read. These events took place at the same time Jane Austen was writing about, yet they're totally different worlds…
Besides the irritating footnotes/endnotes, I really enjoyed reading through this.
I also learned two new words: horripilating and hardihood.
Finally, what's an anti earthquake pill?? Is this some 18th century term for birth control?
The stories of torture and abuse were very difficult to read. These events took place at the same time Jane Austen was writing about, yet they're totally different worlds…
Besides the irritating footnotes/endnotes, I really enjoyed reading through this.
I also learned two new words: horripilating and hardihood.
Finally, what's an anti earthquake pill?? Is this some 18th century term for birth control?
May 1, 2023
A small but very vivid account of a female convict's travel on the 1st fleet of English to sail to Australia in 1788. As-true-as-possible-account of Mary Bryant's stay in the hold of the ship, arrival at Botany Bay and the subsequent trying to stay alive while starving. Her story of how she ended up back in London, England, in 1792.
August 16, 2025
This book was amazing!! It's the true story of Mary Bryant, a convict who came to Australia on the First Fleet and actually managed to escape from Sydney Cove and make it back to England. A must read!
June 25, 2018
This was an interesting read & I did enjoy it.
November 29, 2018
Read this book in 2 days! It was great. Love the blend of narrative and historical sources. A sad but very interesting story.
April 5, 2019
A tragic story of the life of a young woman who was “transported” for seven years for stealing.
March 25, 2020
Too much speculation on Mary's and others thoughts
November 14, 2025
An amazing woman's life would never have been remembered unless painstakingly put together!
March 2, 2009
In the second half of 1700s England was faced with a dilemma: What to do with their convicts. American continent was no longer available for it due to the American Revolution. So, England started looking for a new route. England started sending their convicts to Australia. This is a story of the very First Fleet to arrive. At the heart of the story is Mary Bryant, who was convicted for a highway robbery and sentenced for a transportation to Australia. Carolly Erickson does a great job describing the awful conditions on those prison transport ships, as well as the horrors that were facing the prisoners and mariners once they landed in Australia. Almost instantly it became clear that they were not prepared for a life in a new place: their crops refused to take and grow, the land was not as furtile as it was believed, relations with aborigines people weren't always friendly, the food was running out fast, and no help from the outside world was in sight. Facing a certain death from many deceases or from the famine, several convicts, including Mary, her husband, and her two children, decided on a dire escape. Against all odds they made a journey of over 3600 miles and landed in a Dutch colony. Unfortunatelly, the truth about them was soon out in the open and, once again Mary and the rest of the convicts were arrested and transfered to England for yet another trial. What will happen to Mary now?
This is an excellent story. Clearly it was well researched, however I found Carolly Erickson's writing a little mediocre.
This is an excellent story. Clearly it was well researched, however I found Carolly Erickson's writing a little mediocre.
March 18, 2015
When 20-year-old Mary Bryant is condemned to death in 1789 for highway robbery, she is launched on a desperate journey of survival. Mary is pardoned, only to be sent on a prison ship to Australia with other convicts to spend seven years in the penal colony. The conditions of her 15,000-mile voyage are so horrible that it is hard to comprehend how anyone survived and in fact, many don’t. Once ashore, the wagon in which the convicts are shackled makes no pit stops along the way…so when the wind blows in the right direction, everyone in the colony knows the wagon is about to arrive. If a prisoner is unlucky enough to survive the journey, life in New South Wales is lawless and survival of the fittest is truly the rule of the day.
But when Mary reaches Australia, she marries fellow convict William Bryant so they can acquire land. Blistering heat, incessant rain, and humidity make it difficult to farm. Mary and William decide to attempt an escape. Other prisoners had tried, running into the forest only to be found and slaughtered by the aboriginal natives. Attempts to sail out of the bay were thwarted by guards and militia-men. Along with her husband, two children and nine others, Mary helps plot their escape by sea. They succeed in making it over 4,000 miles to Batavia, only to be captured and imprisoned again. This riveting story of a hardscrabble heroine and 18th-century life in Australia will have readers anxiously turning pages wondering about the ultimate outcome for Mary and her family.
But when Mary reaches Australia, she marries fellow convict William Bryant so they can acquire land. Blistering heat, incessant rain, and humidity make it difficult to farm. Mary and William decide to attempt an escape. Other prisoners had tried, running into the forest only to be found and slaughtered by the aboriginal natives. Attempts to sail out of the bay were thwarted by guards and militia-men. Along with her husband, two children and nine others, Mary helps plot their escape by sea. They succeed in making it over 4,000 miles to Batavia, only to be captured and imprisoned again. This riveting story of a hardscrabble heroine and 18th-century life in Australia will have readers anxiously turning pages wondering about the ultimate outcome for Mary and her family.
February 2, 2010
Mary Bryant was from a poor farming family in the southwest of England in the year 1786. With not enough food and she left home to join the many who lived by their wits and by what ever means they could. At 21 she is arrested with 2 other girls for assaulting and robbing a woman on the road. At trial the 3 were sentenced to hang, but before the sentence was carried
out they were picked to be transported to Australia on the first of the ships of convicts to be sent to that new land to cement British claims on the continent. Her history is pieced together of scant accounts and records and tells of the horrible hardships she and the other prisoners endured during the voyages and once they landed in Botany Bay. Things were so bad that Mary and several other prisoners as well as Mary's husband and 2 young children plotted and carried out an escape in a 23 foot open boat with oars and sail across thousands miles of ocean to Timor in Indonesia. Their eventual recapture and return to England and Mary's pardon brought out about by the intercession of the writer Bowswell. Its a interesting book and its hard to believe that anyone was able to weather the hardships they underwent.
ISBN - 0-471-27140-3, biography, Pages - 196, Print Size - R, Rating - 3.5
All books reviewed are from the library or purchased by the reviewer.
out they were picked to be transported to Australia on the first of the ships of convicts to be sent to that new land to cement British claims on the continent. Her history is pieced together of scant accounts and records and tells of the horrible hardships she and the other prisoners endured during the voyages and once they landed in Botany Bay. Things were so bad that Mary and several other prisoners as well as Mary's husband and 2 young children plotted and carried out an escape in a 23 foot open boat with oars and sail across thousands miles of ocean to Timor in Indonesia. Their eventual recapture and return to England and Mary's pardon brought out about by the intercession of the writer Bowswell. Its a interesting book and its hard to believe that anyone was able to weather the hardships they underwent.
ISBN - 0-471-27140-3, biography, Pages - 196, Print Size - R, Rating - 3.5
All books reviewed are from the library or purchased by the reviewer.
January 4, 2013
Great Britain settled Australia much like they did Georgia, by sending prisoners to start the colony. In fact, it was because Georgia was no longer available that Britain began transporting prisoners to Australia. This book uses the story of one of the women sent to Australia after her death was commuted to transportation. It was decided that the male prisoners would need women if they were to start a colony. Prostitutes and common criminals were sent and inasmuch as it was a time of poverty and destitution there were a lot of common criminals so a lot of minor crimes received the death sentence. The story begins with her highway woman theft of a silk bonnet putting a 'lady' in fear ergo the death sentence. It follows Mary Bryant as she is placed on a prison ship to await transportation and her travails as she is transported, Along the way the author describes what it was like to live in the 'new colony.' An interesting narrative of Australia.
August 31, 2009
This book reads like fiction—modern fiction. However, it’s really the true story of a woman from the lower classes of England who drifts into bad company, is convicted of highway robbery (remarkable in itself) and sentenced to imprisonment and exile. Her amazing story includes nightmarish ship adventures, exile in Australia, inhuman suffering in the remote penal colony, and a risky escape by sea to Timor, topped by another nightmarish ship voyage back to England. The subject matter is definitely ADULT, since the protagonist went to Australia to be the “mate” of male prisoners. The narrative is amazing, and gives a picture of the lower classes’ despair and lack of choices, but the narrative serves also as an amazing testimony to the power of the will to survive, and what 18th Century “pioneers” suffered to settle Australia and the South Seas.
September 10, 2009
A true story that describes the penal colony that Britain set up in New South Wales and the inhuman conditions in which the prisoners were transported and had to live through once they arrived. Mary Broad Bryant was convicted to die after she was caught robbing another woman. One of several dozen women, she was sent to set up the new colony instead. The women were included mainly to satisfy the physical needs of the men, and a lot of this book was hard to read, but Mary's courage and tenacity through the voyage, through childbirth and marriage and an escape to Timor with her children and other prisoners makes the book worthwhile reading.
January 15, 2014
The amazing true story of Mary Bryant, whose impoverished childhood in 18-century Cornwall led first to a life of outlaw daring, then when she was caught, to harsh imprisonment and exile in New South Wales, Australia. There she endured inhumane conditions at the penal colony, and made a risky escape, sailing 3,300 miles in a 20-foot longboat, with her husband, two small children and 6 other men, to the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), only to be betrayed and sent back to England. And what met her there was astonishing. A truly harrowing, epic tale of courage and resourcefulness. This biography reads like a novel...just as exciting.
February 10, 2016
I felt like this book couldn't decide if it wanted to read like fiction or like non-fiction. It missed the mark of that breed of non-fiction that captures our attention like a novel. Mary Bryant certainly had a fascinating life, but for non-fiction, I found it to be remarkably uninformative. The author lays out the events of Mary's life with very few references to greater political/historical events that might have impacted her. It's really just a narrative - she got arrested; sentenced; deported; experienced hardships; etc. And if that is all the author is going to give us then I would have preferred a more gripping style of prose.
June 6, 2025
An amazing account of the British penal settlement of Australia, which I've read as we approach Australia Day. No wonder generations of earlier Australians denied their convict-ancestry past - the squalor and degredation of convict life in 1780s Britain and Botany Bay was abysmal and appalling. Hundreds and hundreds died, and it's mind-blowing reading about the survival of convicts like Mary Bryant - how did they have the strength and fortitude to survive? Nowadays, people are proud to claim a convict ancestor, seeing their courage, will and fortitude as amazing qualities.
December 14, 2012
"The Girl From Botany Bay" by Carolly Erickson is one incredible book that blew me away! What a read! If you love factual stories about survival, struggle, and daring risks under the utmost harrowing inhumane circumstances, then you will surely love this book as much as I did. This epic story of Mary Bryant is one that I can strongly recommend for anyone who loves to read true accounts of courage, survival, and perseverance against all odds.
December 18, 2014
Erickson takes us back to places and times not too many of us are familiar with ... and introduces us to a young woman who was a survivor. She survived jail, horrific conditions on a variety of ships, and very primitive conditions in a new land where there was little food and she was one of few women. Erickson's research fills in the unknown details with logical guesses, and brings the period, and Mary Broad, alive ...very much enjoyed.
March 12, 2010
This is historical nonfiction. Telling the story of the first convicts sent to Australia in the 1780's from the point of view of one young woman lends interest and immediacy to a story with which I was unfamiliar. The hardships and the courage with which she faced them are fascinating. I enjoyed the book a lot, as did the other members of my book group.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews