Strumpets of the Worst Kind

by Lynne Hume

London, 1836. Street-smart Maggie Burnett from the back alleys of Cheapside, is imprisoned in filthy, rat-infested Newgate Gaol. There she meets the gentle Sarah Hamilton, and the rough Scottish woman, Agnes MacDonald. Along with a hundred other women, they have been sentenced to transportation to start a new life on the other side of the world.

Once on board the ship to Van Diemen’s Land, they realize that Newgate was comfortable compared with the perilous journey on the high seas with a crew of lustful sailors.

In a land where men outnumber women seven to one, it will take all of their courage and wits just to survive. What choices do each of them make when faced with the dangers inside the Female Factory, and the loneliness, violence and fear of the unknown outside? Will the taint of the ‘convict stain’ follow them for the rest of their lives?

320 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2018

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired by true events gets me hooked each time. I recently went on a holiday to Tasmania so reading this book sparked a large interest. Reading three different fictional tales of convict women surviving mid nineteenth century life before, during and after conviction was so engaging. I could easily see myself in any of there stories had I lived in that time. These women had to do anything to survive. It was satisfying to hear how they learned to be street smart and observe quickly how men in that time reacted to young women. Yes,some parts of the story can be heavier than others but the general theme remains. These women were strong, smart survivors.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read about convict women transported to Van Diemen’s Land. I have visited the Female Factory in Hobart and this novel brought to life the lives of the women there.

[A. Brussoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A master historical review of a very dark period of abuse and detraction of those who were caught by the "justice" and labelled as the most filthy human beings and therefore deserving an inhumane treatment in jails and ships. The author visits with accuracy the different paths by which women were jailed with no rights even when the charges were false or they were merely survival tactics to cope with dire conditions, mainly starvation and were forced to pickpocket the food they and their family needed. All the women were mainly teenagers, and are depicted with accuracy i.e. keeping the "dialects"as well as the conditions they were subject to during their imprisonment. The author brings to the reader directly into the 1830s and also helps to understand why the same or worst standards were used to treat the slaves during their trips from Africa, of course not considering that they had done nothing wrong except for being in the wrong place and captured by the immoral traders. The author hovers with delicacy over the most disturbing human behaviors reporting those without entering into gross details. I would like to read another novel by the same author asap.

[Anita Edmonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this in our book club recently and everybody loved it. I can highly recommend. I’d never given any thought before to what female convicts experienced coming by ship from England to Hobart and how they made a life for themselves if they survived. I loved the three main characters from very different backgrounds. The author so cleverly intertwines historical facts, from countless hours of research, with creative writing to vividly bring to life what women went through on the ship, in the female prison, out on ‘assignment’, at the gold fields, earning a living etc. Plus an insight into the Quakers, bush rangers and more. Fascinating, heart-wrenching, yet entertaining, taking the definition of resilience to a whole new level.

[Jean Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book about female convicts sent out to Australia from England in the early 1800’s. They arrive in Tasmania and are housed in the notorious Cascades Prison. The various stories of the females we follow seem pretty authentic. We learn about prison life with its’ various classes of inmates and the town of Hobart. Later in the story the setting changes to the goldfields which is another story in itself. I would think a fair bit of research has gone into this book and it was a very good read.

[Diannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well concieved, engaging characters with lots of historical facts.

[Sean Crawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical fiction at its best. Lynne Hume reveals an horrific aspect of convict Australia of which I had no previous awareness.