What do you think?
Rate this book
Fled
A fierce and heart-breaking historical debut, perfect for fans of The Light Between Oceans and based on the incredible true story of convict Mary Bryant.
Highway robber
Convict
Runaway
Mother
Jenny Trelawney is no ordinary thief. Forced by poverty to live in the Devon forest, she becomes a successful highway woman - until her luck runs out.
Transported to Australia, pregnant and alone, Jenny must face harsh challenges in an unforgiving land. When famine hits the new colony, Jenny becomes convinced that those she most cares about will not survive.
She becomes the leader in a grand plot of escape. Setting sail in a small open boat on an unknown ocean, she will do anything for freedom, but at what cost?
Highway robber
Convict
Runaway
Mother
Jenny Trelawney is no ordinary thief. Forced by poverty to live in the Devon forest, she becomes a successful highway woman - until her luck runs out.
Transported to Australia, pregnant and alone, Jenny must face harsh challenges in an unforgiving land. When famine hits the new colony, Jenny becomes convinced that those she most cares about will not survive.
She becomes the leader in a grand plot of escape. Setting sail in a small open boat on an unknown ocean, she will do anything for freedom, but at what cost?
400 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2019
390 people are currently reading
2007 people want to read
About the author
Meg Keneally
12 books119 followersMeg Keneally started her working life as a junior public affairs officer at the Australian Consulate-General in New York, before moving to Dublin to work as a sub-editor and freelance features writer. On returning to Australia, she joined the Daily Telegraph as a general news reporter, covering everything from courts to crime to animals' birthday parties at the zoo. She then joined Radio 2UE as a talkback radio producer.
In 1997 Meg co-founded a financial service public relations company, which she sold after having her first child. For more than ten years, Margaret has worked in corporate affairs for listed financial services companies, and doubles as a part-time SCUBA diving instructor. She lives in Sydney with her husband Craig and children Rory and Alex.
In 1997 Meg co-founded a financial service public relations company, which she sold after having her first child. For more than ten years, Margaret has worked in corporate affairs for listed financial services companies, and doubles as a part-time SCUBA diving instructor. She lives in Sydney with her husband Craig and children Rory and Alex.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 231 reviews
July 8, 2019
I was lucky, as it turned out, to have received a copy of FLED from Edelweiss+ several months ago, however, I was in no hurry to read this novel, which was a big mistake! Having read two wonderful reviews by my Friends, Nat and Collin, I decided it was high time to open this book. Based on true yet incredible events, it tells a story of Jenny Trelawney who, as a young girl, was sent to the penal colony in Australia at the end of the 18th century and managed to flee in a most daring way. The fate of Jenny was marked by her father’s death which left her family destitute and which forced her to turn to a criminal activity for which Jenny got convicted. Instead of being hanged, Jenny was transported to the penal colony at Sydney Cove. Her strength of character and stamina despite tragic losses of her children, allowed her to survive. And a stroke of luck, which she absolutely deserved and earned.
FLED gives, apart from a fantastic plot, an insight into Australia’s first years as a place where convicted were sent and into the lives they led there, and how the relationships with the Native Australians developed. This novel has everything I seek while reading: a wonderful story, all different types of characters, the heroine that I can relate to and historical background. If you add wonderful narration, you have a book that will keep you away from the reality for many hours, as was the case with me. My Family will not read this feedback, but I beg their forgiveness for neglecting my duties for a couple of days …
*Many thanks to Meg Keneally, Arcade and Edelweiss+ for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
FLED gives, apart from a fantastic plot, an insight into Australia’s first years as a place where convicted were sent and into the lives they led there, and how the relationships with the Native Australians developed. This novel has everything I seek while reading: a wonderful story, all different types of characters, the heroine that I can relate to and historical background. If you add wonderful narration, you have a book that will keep you away from the reality for many hours, as was the case with me. My Family will not read this feedback, but I beg their forgiveness for neglecting my duties for a couple of days …
*Many thanks to Meg Keneally, Arcade and Edelweiss+ for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
December 28, 2024
” ‘ I said I would tell you our destination when I knew it. We will be travelling to Botany Bay.’
‘Is it closer than America?’ Jenny asked.
‘Much further I’m afraid. Further still than Africa. I expect we will be at sea for some months.’ “
Reading this made me realise how incredible it is to think that Australia was once an unknown land. Considering the now cluttered coastline, filled with people of all creeds and cultures, just over two hundred years ago, it was virgin territory. With indigenous people and native animals its sole inhabitants. Until the tall ships arrived. I tried to imagine how it would have appeared through the eyes of the people who landed on her shores, either as convicts or the soldiers and sailors guarding them. And also how strange it would have been for the indigenous people to suddenly find pale faced strangers landing on their shore.
This is an absolutely first rate debut from Meg Keneally. She skilfully captures the essence of the hardships of settling on and in our “great Southern land”.
We follow the journey of Jenny Trelawney* from her impoverished existence in Cornwall, to landing on Sydney’s shores as a female convict. This is a realistic and fascinating account of her journey.
From enduring the long boat ride across the oceans, to building a home in a strange land with a babe in arms, Jenny has to dig deep to survive. Both for her sake and for her young (growing) family. She has to think on her feet and use her wits rather than her fists. We’re shown Jenny’s interaction with the native people, slowly befriending them, trying to learn from them about this strange new land with its unusual plants and even stranger animals. We watch the politics and petty jealousies of convict life. Where a rumour can earn you a flogging. Or a hanging.
Meg Keneally has the uncanny ability to paint the scene incredibly accurately. We see this brave new world through Jenny’s eyes. It’s harsh, it’s brutal, it’s cruel. Interspersed with moments of beauty, friendship and sometimes even love.
I adored Jenny’s strength of character and resilience. She is stubborn and determined. This is one feisty lady, doing all she can to endure the harsh environment of an unknown land in such a male dominated society. Only one with such strength of spirit would even dare to consider escaping the shores of Botany Bay…
No further superlatives are needed. Whether or not you’re a history buff, this is quite simply a must read. Lose yourself in it.
5✩✩✩✩✩ plus.
*** Hats off to the extremely well read and the wonderful, talented Mr.Neale-ski who chose this as our buddy read. I wish that I’d chosen it. Darn you! Magic. Make sure you check out his fab review (we’re both in agreement this is a 5✩read) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ***
* Jenny Trelawney is a fictional character based around the real life of Mary Bryant. Rather than assume to know what was going in Mary’s head and heart, Meg went down the path of creating the fictional character Jenny.
As written in the AUTHORS NOTE:
”Mary was illiterate, so there’s no record of her thoughts and feelings…
It seemed wrong to ascribe thoughts, emotions and beliefs to her when I had no idea whether they were actually hers; it felt better to have a fictional character who could fully own all of this.”
For which I say a heartfelt “thank you” to Meg Keneally for doing so.
‘Is it closer than America?’ Jenny asked.
‘Much further I’m afraid. Further still than Africa. I expect we will be at sea for some months.’ “
Reading this made me realise how incredible it is to think that Australia was once an unknown land. Considering the now cluttered coastline, filled with people of all creeds and cultures, just over two hundred years ago, it was virgin territory. With indigenous people and native animals its sole inhabitants. Until the tall ships arrived. I tried to imagine how it would have appeared through the eyes of the people who landed on her shores, either as convicts or the soldiers and sailors guarding them. And also how strange it would have been for the indigenous people to suddenly find pale faced strangers landing on their shore.
This is an absolutely first rate debut from Meg Keneally. She skilfully captures the essence of the hardships of settling on and in our “great Southern land”.
We follow the journey of Jenny Trelawney* from her impoverished existence in Cornwall, to landing on Sydney’s shores as a female convict. This is a realistic and fascinating account of her journey.
From enduring the long boat ride across the oceans, to building a home in a strange land with a babe in arms, Jenny has to dig deep to survive. Both for her sake and for her young (growing) family. She has to think on her feet and use her wits rather than her fists. We’re shown Jenny’s interaction with the native people, slowly befriending them, trying to learn from them about this strange new land with its unusual plants and even stranger animals. We watch the politics and petty jealousies of convict life. Where a rumour can earn you a flogging. Or a hanging.
Meg Keneally has the uncanny ability to paint the scene incredibly accurately. We see this brave new world through Jenny’s eyes. It’s harsh, it’s brutal, it’s cruel. Interspersed with moments of beauty, friendship and sometimes even love.
I adored Jenny’s strength of character and resilience. She is stubborn and determined. This is one feisty lady, doing all she can to endure the harsh environment of an unknown land in such a male dominated society. Only one with such strength of spirit would even dare to consider escaping the shores of Botany Bay…
No further superlatives are needed. Whether or not you’re a history buff, this is quite simply a must read. Lose yourself in it.
5✩✩✩✩✩ plus.
*** Hats off to the extremely well read and the wonderful, talented Mr.Neale-ski who chose this as our buddy read. I wish that I’d chosen it. Darn you! Magic. Make sure you check out his fab review (we’re both in agreement this is a 5✩read) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ***
* Jenny Trelawney is a fictional character based around the real life of Mary Bryant. Rather than assume to know what was going in Mary’s head and heart, Meg went down the path of creating the fictional character Jenny.
As written in the AUTHORS NOTE:
”Mary was illiterate, so there’s no record of her thoughts and feelings…
It seemed wrong to ascribe thoughts, emotions and beliefs to her when I had no idea whether they were actually hers; it felt better to have a fictional character who could fully own all of this.”
For which I say a heartfelt “thank you” to Meg Keneally for doing so.
June 19, 2019
I haven't previously read any fiction set around the arrival of the first fleet in Australia in 1788 and the establishment of the first colony at Sydney Cove so really enjoyed this re-imagined account.
Based on the remarkable life of historical figure, Mary Bryant whose death sentence for highway robbery was commuted to transportation, it is an eye-opening account of what life would really have been like for the first settlers. As little is known of the actual details of the lives of the convicts involved, the author has given them fictional names, using the events in Mary's life as a scaffold for her main character, Jenny Gwyn (nee Trelawney).
It is a remarkable story. The British were totally unprepared to establish a new settlement and struggled to grow and find enough food in the harsh conditions and soon the colony was struggling to feed itself. While they needed farmers and builders to quickly get shelter and a food supply established all they had were a large group of uneducated petty thieves, already ill and half starved from the deprivations of the eight month journey in the hull of a ship. Contact with the Eora aborigines, who could have shown them how to feed themselves from the land, was discouraged by the Governor.
Like Mary Bryant, Jenny had become pregnant on the journey and so had baby Charlotte to also try to keep alive. From a Cornish fishing family herself, she astutely married a Cornish fisherman who was granted leave from the Governor to organise fishing for the colony. This allowed them some privileges in building their own family shelter and being allowed to keep some fish for themselves. It also allowed them access to a boat, a small cutter, which led to an audacious plan to escape to the Dutch trading post of Kupang in West Timor, an incredible journey of over three thousand nautical miles that took them 63 days. That all survived, including Mary/Jenny and her two small children (Charlotte and baby Emanuel) speaks to her toughness and tenacity. Unfortunately they were not to be free for long and the remainder of the book describes their recapture, nightmare journey back to England, Jenny's trial and her celebrity in the media of the day.
This is a lively, well written account of the arrival of the first fleet and it's attempts to establish a new settlement under ill-prepared and difficult circumstances. Built on well-researched historical detail, the author has captured the atmosphere of the time and conditions of life on the shores of Sydney Cove. I enjoyed learning of the life of Mary Bryant through the fictional version of Jenny Gwyn and I especially liked that, as Ms Keneally states in her Author's notes that since we don't know what happened to Mary after her trial, "I wrote for Jenny the ending I feel Mary deserves". Recommended for all those who enjoy well written historical fiction. 4.5★
With many thanks to Netgalley and Skyhorse Publishing for a digital copy to read.
Based on the remarkable life of historical figure, Mary Bryant whose death sentence for highway robbery was commuted to transportation, it is an eye-opening account of what life would really have been like for the first settlers. As little is known of the actual details of the lives of the convicts involved, the author has given them fictional names, using the events in Mary's life as a scaffold for her main character, Jenny Gwyn (nee Trelawney).
It is a remarkable story. The British were totally unprepared to establish a new settlement and struggled to grow and find enough food in the harsh conditions and soon the colony was struggling to feed itself. While they needed farmers and builders to quickly get shelter and a food supply established all they had were a large group of uneducated petty thieves, already ill and half starved from the deprivations of the eight month journey in the hull of a ship. Contact with the Eora aborigines, who could have shown them how to feed themselves from the land, was discouraged by the Governor.
Like Mary Bryant, Jenny had become pregnant on the journey and so had baby Charlotte to also try to keep alive. From a Cornish fishing family herself, she astutely married a Cornish fisherman who was granted leave from the Governor to organise fishing for the colony. This allowed them some privileges in building their own family shelter and being allowed to keep some fish for themselves. It also allowed them access to a boat, a small cutter, which led to an audacious plan to escape to the Dutch trading post of Kupang in West Timor, an incredible journey of over three thousand nautical miles that took them 63 days. That all survived, including Mary/Jenny and her two small children (Charlotte and baby Emanuel) speaks to her toughness and tenacity. Unfortunately they were not to be free for long and the remainder of the book describes their recapture, nightmare journey back to England, Jenny's trial and her celebrity in the media of the day.
This is a lively, well written account of the arrival of the first fleet and it's attempts to establish a new settlement under ill-prepared and difficult circumstances. Built on well-researched historical detail, the author has captured the atmosphere of the time and conditions of life on the shores of Sydney Cove. I enjoyed learning of the life of Mary Bryant through the fictional version of Jenny Gwyn and I especially liked that, as Ms Keneally states in her Author's notes that since we don't know what happened to Mary after her trial, "I wrote for Jenny the ending I feel Mary deserves". Recommended for all those who enjoy well written historical fiction. 4.5★
With many thanks to Netgalley and Skyhorse Publishing for a digital copy to read.
July 5, 2019
With the death of her Father and the King’s pernicious taxes forcing her family into penury, Jenny has little choice but to turn to a life of crime to survive. Whether it is chance or fate which places her in the path of a merchant’s horse, it is Jenny’s hand that grabs his ankle and pulls him down as he draws a knife to defend himself against a highway robber who has appeared from the forest. The penny drops literally as the robber rewards Jenny with a silver coin and an offer of nefarious employment. Even while declining, she realises that for her family and herself to avoid starvation and survive, she must indeed follow this robber down a path that, more often than not, ends with a noose.
So begins the amazing adventurous life of Jenny Gwyn and it’s all true. Jenny is a fictional character yes, but her life is based on the historical highway woman Mary Bryant. I had to keep reminding myself of this as I marvelled at how somebody could endure the trials and hardships that she does, and how she continually defies almost impossible odds.
It all starts when Jenny is inevitably captured, and her sentence is reduced from hanging to transportation to Botany Bay for seven years. Because of the duration, and the horrendous living conditions experienced within the bowels of these transportation ships, it’s a wonder that any of the prisoners survive the journey.
For those who do survive, the future is not much brighter. The colony is woefully unprepared for the environment it finds upon arrival. The oppressive heat, the poor soil, the lack of food and livestock. Arable land cannot be found. Fishing proves to be the one constant reliable food source and it turns out to be Jenny’s saviour.
To mitigate the men’s insatiable lust, marriage is encouraged between the prisoners and Jenny sees an opportunity in Dan. Dan proves invaluable to the colony as an expert fisherman and as fish are the major food source of the colony, Dan has access to the cutter, the ship’s workboat, which is now used for fishing.
Jenny had a baby girl on the voyage over from England and a baby boy with Dan, who she marries. Jenny believes that her young family will never survive the harsh brutal conditions of the colony and plans an escape plan with almost no chance of succeeding. What follows is an epic adventure that you will find hard to believe. 5 Stars.
This was another buddy read with the wonderful Nat K. Please check out her review when she posts it, as hers are always better than mine. :)
So begins the amazing adventurous life of Jenny Gwyn and it’s all true. Jenny is a fictional character yes, but her life is based on the historical highway woman Mary Bryant. I had to keep reminding myself of this as I marvelled at how somebody could endure the trials and hardships that she does, and how she continually defies almost impossible odds.
It all starts when Jenny is inevitably captured, and her sentence is reduced from hanging to transportation to Botany Bay for seven years. Because of the duration, and the horrendous living conditions experienced within the bowels of these transportation ships, it’s a wonder that any of the prisoners survive the journey.
For those who do survive, the future is not much brighter. The colony is woefully unprepared for the environment it finds upon arrival. The oppressive heat, the poor soil, the lack of food and livestock. Arable land cannot be found. Fishing proves to be the one constant reliable food source and it turns out to be Jenny’s saviour.
To mitigate the men’s insatiable lust, marriage is encouraged between the prisoners and Jenny sees an opportunity in Dan. Dan proves invaluable to the colony as an expert fisherman and as fish are the major food source of the colony, Dan has access to the cutter, the ship’s workboat, which is now used for fishing.
Jenny had a baby girl on the voyage over from England and a baby boy with Dan, who she marries. Jenny believes that her young family will never survive the harsh brutal conditions of the colony and plans an escape plan with almost no chance of succeeding. What follows is an epic adventure that you will find hard to believe. 5 Stars.
This was another buddy read with the wonderful Nat K. Please check out her review when she posts it, as hers are always better than mine. :)
July 3, 2019
Jenny Trelawney was shattered by her father’s death and the gradual decline of her mother. The need for money for food drove Jenny to become a highwaywoman, but although she and her two companions were good at what they did, they finally made a mistake. Their arrest and incarceration into Newgate Prison, and the news they were to hang wasn’t a surprise to Jenny. But the waiving of the hanging with transportation to the new colony at Sydney Cove was a big shock. Their journey on the Charlotte was arduous, filthy and with starvation looming, Jenny did what she had to. Her arrival in Sydney Cove saw her accompanied by her tiny daughter Charlotte.
Realising that marriage would offer them protection, she propositioned Dan Gwyn, a fellow inmate who was also a dedicated fisherman, and between the two of them they managed to better themselves slightly. Providing the colony with fish had the Governor allowing certain privileges but when it all went wrong, they were back in trouble once again. That led to Jenny, her children, Dan and several others setting sail on a cutter, determined to escape the confines of Sydney Cove and the shackles they felt there. But could they possibly reach safety in the small boat? Would they have enough water and food; supplies to see them right on the desperate journey?
Fled by Aussie author Meg Keneally is a fascinating, heartbreaking tale of heroism, hardship, determination and courage. Based on the true story of Mary Bryant, it shows an innate strength of character in Jenny that very few women would have. What that woman went through beggars belief, and yet it was incredibly real. A thoroughly enjoyable read, Fled is one I highly recommend.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Realising that marriage would offer them protection, she propositioned Dan Gwyn, a fellow inmate who was also a dedicated fisherman, and between the two of them they managed to better themselves slightly. Providing the colony with fish had the Governor allowing certain privileges but when it all went wrong, they were back in trouble once again. That led to Jenny, her children, Dan and several others setting sail on a cutter, determined to escape the confines of Sydney Cove and the shackles they felt there. But could they possibly reach safety in the small boat? Would they have enough water and food; supplies to see them right on the desperate journey?
Fled by Aussie author Meg Keneally is a fascinating, heartbreaking tale of heroism, hardship, determination and courage. Based on the true story of Mary Bryant, it shows an innate strength of character in Jenny that very few women would have. What that woman went through beggars belief, and yet it was incredibly real. A thoroughly enjoyable read, Fled is one I highly recommend.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
April 12, 2019
"Meg Keneally’s debut solo novel is an epic historical adventure based on the extraordinary life of convict Mary Bryant".
I was already acquainted with the history of Mary and was looking forward to this particular author's fictionalised version of the plight of Mary and her ordeal at being transported to Australia in the late 18th century and her exceptional tale of survival.
In this book "Fled", Jenny is a convicted highway robber and in escaping the noose is 'transported beyond the seas for seven years' provided she can stay alive. The many ordeals Jenny encountered from being incarcerated in disgusting gaol conditions to the sea voyage and then the act itself of staying alive on new and uncultivated land, with her baby Charlotte, were truly awful. Giving birth on the ship must have been horrendous and I really can't imagine just how bad the hygiene must have been. It honestly makes you stop and think about how hard times were for the very poor, who resorted to petty crime just to survive. A truly harrowing story, of survival, grief and perseverance, the author has captured the era and Mary's story through Jenny spot on. It was very hard at times not to shed a tear at the really frightening and acutely distressing experiences that was endured by all the convicts male and female alike.
A very well written and atmospheric novel based on real life events that the author has developed using her own imagination and what she perceives to be what life was like for the countless convicts that were transported many, many years ago.
I would recommend "Fled" and I'd happily read more historical adventures from this author again. I really enjoyed this particular account of Mary's life and as strong, inspirational women go she's got to be one of the best in history.
4 stars
I was already acquainted with the history of Mary and was looking forward to this particular author's fictionalised version of the plight of Mary and her ordeal at being transported to Australia in the late 18th century and her exceptional tale of survival.
In this book "Fled", Jenny is a convicted highway robber and in escaping the noose is 'transported beyond the seas for seven years' provided she can stay alive. The many ordeals Jenny encountered from being incarcerated in disgusting gaol conditions to the sea voyage and then the act itself of staying alive on new and uncultivated land, with her baby Charlotte, were truly awful. Giving birth on the ship must have been horrendous and I really can't imagine just how bad the hygiene must have been. It honestly makes you stop and think about how hard times were for the very poor, who resorted to petty crime just to survive. A truly harrowing story, of survival, grief and perseverance, the author has captured the era and Mary's story through Jenny spot on. It was very hard at times not to shed a tear at the really frightening and acutely distressing experiences that was endured by all the convicts male and female alike.
A very well written and atmospheric novel based on real life events that the author has developed using her own imagination and what she perceives to be what life was like for the countless convicts that were transported many, many years ago.
I would recommend "Fled" and I'd happily read more historical adventures from this author again. I really enjoyed this particular account of Mary's life and as strong, inspirational women go she's got to be one of the best in history.
4 stars
December 5, 2019
4-1/2 stars. A truly excellent story with historical content. It's said that hardship promotes character and Mary had character to build on. I love stories of survival and Mary endured one catastrophic event after another. I would have liked to have met Mary Bryant. Highly recommended.
April 27, 2024
English version below
****************
Dieser historische Roman beruht auf wahren Ereignissen, die ohne weitere Ausschmückungen eine wirklich interessante Geschichte ergeben und die Erlebnisse einer starken Frau beschreiben.
Dennoch konnte ich mich nicht so richtig für diesen Roman erwärmen. Es fällt mir schwer zu glauben, dass die Protagonistin Jenny ständig die einzige Person ist, die die richtigen Entscheidungen trifft, ständig die einzige ist, durch die die anderen Flüchtlinge überleben, während die Männer irgendwie als Idioten dargestellt werden, die für ihren albernen männlichen Stolz sogar ihr Leben aufs Spiel setzen.
Die Zustände auf den Schiffen und in den Gefängnissen sind sehr deutlich beschrieben.
Dennoch war Jenny für mich eine eher unangenehme Frau und trotz der an sich spannenden Geschichte habe ich ein schnelles Ende des Buches herbeigesehnt, weil ich den Text oft als zäh empfand.
Ich vergebe 2,5 Sterne und runde auf 3 auf.
-------------------------
This historical novel is based on true events which, without further embellishment, make for a really interesting story and describe the experiences of a strong woman.
Nevertheless, I couldn't really warm to this novel. I find it hard to believe that the protagonist Jenny is always the only person who makes the right decisions, is always the only one through whom the other refugees survive, while the men are somehow portrayed as idiots who even risk their lives for their silly male pride.
The conditions on the ships and in the prisons are described very clearly.
Nevertheless, Jenny was a rather unpleasant woman for me and despite the exciting story itself, I longed for the book to end quickly because I often found the text tedious.
I assign it 2.5 stars and round it up to 3.
****************
Dieser historische Roman beruht auf wahren Ereignissen, die ohne weitere Ausschmückungen eine wirklich interessante Geschichte ergeben und die Erlebnisse einer starken Frau beschreiben.
Dennoch konnte ich mich nicht so richtig für diesen Roman erwärmen. Es fällt mir schwer zu glauben, dass die Protagonistin Jenny ständig die einzige Person ist, die die richtigen Entscheidungen trifft, ständig die einzige ist, durch die die anderen Flüchtlinge überleben, während die Männer irgendwie als Idioten dargestellt werden, die für ihren albernen männlichen Stolz sogar ihr Leben aufs Spiel setzen.
Die Zustände auf den Schiffen und in den Gefängnissen sind sehr deutlich beschrieben.
Dennoch war Jenny für mich eine eher unangenehme Frau und trotz der an sich spannenden Geschichte habe ich ein schnelles Ende des Buches herbeigesehnt, weil ich den Text oft als zäh empfand.
Ich vergebe 2,5 Sterne und runde auf 3 auf.
-------------------------
This historical novel is based on true events which, without further embellishment, make for a really interesting story and describe the experiences of a strong woman.
Nevertheless, I couldn't really warm to this novel. I find it hard to believe that the protagonist Jenny is always the only person who makes the right decisions, is always the only one through whom the other refugees survive, while the men are somehow portrayed as idiots who even risk their lives for their silly male pride.
The conditions on the ships and in the prisons are described very clearly.
Nevertheless, Jenny was a rather unpleasant woman for me and despite the exciting story itself, I longed for the book to end quickly because I often found the text tedious.
I assign it 2.5 stars and round it up to 3.
June 10, 2019
“This novel is based on the life of Mary Bryant, the woman behind one of history’s most daring escapes.” Mary Bryant (1765 – after 1794) was a Cornish convict sent to Australia. She became one of the first successful escapees from the fledgling Australian penal colony.
Southern Cornwall, 1783: Jenny Trelawney grew up helping her father on a boat, but when the sea claims his life, her family is forced to sell the boat to help with the money.
Jenny already has a reputation of an odd one, and with an unladylike mouth it’s even more difficult to find a husband. With no prospects for a husband or a job in Cornwall, she travels to Plymouth in search for some work.
On her way to Plymouth, she witnesses highway robbery and this puts an idea into her mind, which leads her only to prison.
The extension of the Royal Mercy takes her to England’s newest colony of Australia to settle it.
After months of brutal journey through rough waters and deplorable conditions, they arrive at sandy beaches with the ground unsuited for growing anything. The land hasn’t been explored fully yet, but the officials of the new colony, already encourage marriages between the convicts here.
As the vegetables fail to grow and the ground turns even challenging for building huts, the new ways of the new land had to be learned in order to survive. The waters are to be explored for fish instead.
With more convicts coming to the settlement and not enough food, Jenny starts hatching a plan of escape. She learns of an island called Coepang, which was colonized by Dutch people, who are friendly and hospitable to those who get wrecked on the ocean.
This atmospheric novel gives glimpses into each step of the life’s journey of the heroine. Her missteps on her home land, the rough journey to the new colony, the reality and struggle to survive on the new land, and her escape and encounters with the natives some more friendly than the others – keeping a reader on their toes.
With interesting characters, the story is told with engaging prose and moving dialogue injected with some humor. When Jenny is called the heroine of the seas, her husband accuses her, “it rests around your shoulders like a shawl.”
And above all, it is a touching portrayal of a very strong woman who voraciously fought for survival and even more for her children to be in a safe environment and have enough food.
@FB/BestHistoricalFiction
Southern Cornwall, 1783: Jenny Trelawney grew up helping her father on a boat, but when the sea claims his life, her family is forced to sell the boat to help with the money.
Jenny already has a reputation of an odd one, and with an unladylike mouth it’s even more difficult to find a husband. With no prospects for a husband or a job in Cornwall, she travels to Plymouth in search for some work.
On her way to Plymouth, she witnesses highway robbery and this puts an idea into her mind, which leads her only to prison.
The extension of the Royal Mercy takes her to England’s newest colony of Australia to settle it.
After months of brutal journey through rough waters and deplorable conditions, they arrive at sandy beaches with the ground unsuited for growing anything. The land hasn’t been explored fully yet, but the officials of the new colony, already encourage marriages between the convicts here.
As the vegetables fail to grow and the ground turns even challenging for building huts, the new ways of the new land had to be learned in order to survive. The waters are to be explored for fish instead.
With more convicts coming to the settlement and not enough food, Jenny starts hatching a plan of escape. She learns of an island called Coepang, which was colonized by Dutch people, who are friendly and hospitable to those who get wrecked on the ocean.
This atmospheric novel gives glimpses into each step of the life’s journey of the heroine. Her missteps on her home land, the rough journey to the new colony, the reality and struggle to survive on the new land, and her escape and encounters with the natives some more friendly than the others – keeping a reader on their toes.
With interesting characters, the story is told with engaging prose and moving dialogue injected with some humor. When Jenny is called the heroine of the seas, her husband accuses her, “it rests around your shoulders like a shawl.”
And above all, it is a touching portrayal of a very strong woman who voraciously fought for survival and even more for her children to be in a safe environment and have enough food.
@FB/BestHistoricalFiction
April 10, 2024
This novel is based on a real person and actual events that have been embellished or changed. The struggle to survive seemed unrelenting. Just when you think things are getting better...... they're not. Until, finally, at the end. The descriptions of settling in Australia are interesting and it seems like a hard life of fighting against nature and the elements just to grow crops to have enough to eat.
July 12, 2020
*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
'Few people here will care about the distance between Sydney Cove and Botany Bay and whether you left a footprint on the shore of one or the other. What matters is that they now have a name for you. One which is exotic, one people will remember. One we will make them remember.’
Fled takes you to another world, as the reader takes a step back in history, imaging the turbulent life and times of Jenny Trelawney, a fictional representation of the notorious convict Mary Bryant. A story of restriction, chance, freedom, exploration and epic adventure, Fled is an excellent historical reconstruction of colonial times and the convict experience.
Opening in Cornwall, England in the year 1783, the reader is acquainted with Jenny Trelawney, a skilled thief. Jenny is a known highwaywoman, robbing the rich until one day she is caught in the act and sent to jail. Jenny’s is sentenced to hang, but she is given a lifeline. This saving grace is a transport ship bound for the new colony of Australia. A matter of pure survival, this challenging ordeal will test Jenny’s spirit to the core. But Jenny triumphs, leading the charge in a daring plot to escape across the dangerous seas of this foreign land, will Jenny be in charge of her own destiny again?
Fled represents the first independent novel from Australian author Meg Kennelly, who has previously teamed up with Thomas Keneally to produce the Monserrat series. Fled is a dramatic, intrepid and daring tale of a thief come female convict, who finds herself at the mercy of the sea in an attempt to secure her freedom. Meg Kennelly’s novel is a rich historical record and a high seas exploit, which I was able to completely submerge myself in.
Fled is divided into three distinct parts. These sections chronicle the lead’s life from her daring days as a highwaywoman and a well versed thief, though to her tumultuous transportation to Australia and finally her days as a free woman. Fled is a clear and colourful reconstruction of times past. Fled recounts the life and times of a protagonist who is based on one of Australia’s most well-known female convicts, Mary Bryant. I loved how Keneally managed to recreate this real life historical figure’s life in a flipped, switched and entirely different way to what I have read or viewed in previous formats. Keneally still remains true to the facts, but she puts her own unique spin on this incredibly fascinating woman and her equally compelling life. Despite Fled representing a fictional version of Jenny Trelawney’s life, an impressive five page author’s note provides the reader with plenty of historical backing.
Early life in Australia may bore some, but Keneally weaves her magic over this superb slice of Australia’s past and she injects new life into times gone by. It is important that present day Australians, especially younger generations, are made of aware of the amazing stories and people from our past. Fled bridges that important gap between history and contemporary life. Keneally presents a convincing tale that pulls in all the stops. From the dangers and threat of capture as a thief, to the depths of despair Jenny experiences when she is incarcerated, to the perilous journey on board the ship bound for Australia, through to Jenny’s life in the new colony. What I admired about Keneally’s approach was her unflinching representation of the ugly ails of life during these incredibly hard times. We witness the drudgery, desperation, hovels, exploitation, abuse, disease, malnutrition, starvation, cruelty and injustice. These were cruel and ruthless times, but you had to make of it what you can, as Jenny Trelawney shows us.
Remarkable, revealing and riveting, Fled resurrects our nation’s past and fills in the grey areas of the fragrant life of Jenny Trelawney (Mary Bryant) within a robust historical tale. I would direct those who have a keen interest in Australia’s early settlement days to Meg Keneally’s book.
Fled is book #80 of the 2020 Australian Women Writers Challenge
'Few people here will care about the distance between Sydney Cove and Botany Bay and whether you left a footprint on the shore of one or the other. What matters is that they now have a name for you. One which is exotic, one people will remember. One we will make them remember.’
Fled takes you to another world, as the reader takes a step back in history, imaging the turbulent life and times of Jenny Trelawney, a fictional representation of the notorious convict Mary Bryant. A story of restriction, chance, freedom, exploration and epic adventure, Fled is an excellent historical reconstruction of colonial times and the convict experience.
Opening in Cornwall, England in the year 1783, the reader is acquainted with Jenny Trelawney, a skilled thief. Jenny is a known highwaywoman, robbing the rich until one day she is caught in the act and sent to jail. Jenny’s is sentenced to hang, but she is given a lifeline. This saving grace is a transport ship bound for the new colony of Australia. A matter of pure survival, this challenging ordeal will test Jenny’s spirit to the core. But Jenny triumphs, leading the charge in a daring plot to escape across the dangerous seas of this foreign land, will Jenny be in charge of her own destiny again?
Fled represents the first independent novel from Australian author Meg Kennelly, who has previously teamed up with Thomas Keneally to produce the Monserrat series. Fled is a dramatic, intrepid and daring tale of a thief come female convict, who finds herself at the mercy of the sea in an attempt to secure her freedom. Meg Kennelly’s novel is a rich historical record and a high seas exploit, which I was able to completely submerge myself in.
Fled is divided into three distinct parts. These sections chronicle the lead’s life from her daring days as a highwaywoman and a well versed thief, though to her tumultuous transportation to Australia and finally her days as a free woman. Fled is a clear and colourful reconstruction of times past. Fled recounts the life and times of a protagonist who is based on one of Australia’s most well-known female convicts, Mary Bryant. I loved how Keneally managed to recreate this real life historical figure’s life in a flipped, switched and entirely different way to what I have read or viewed in previous formats. Keneally still remains true to the facts, but she puts her own unique spin on this incredibly fascinating woman and her equally compelling life. Despite Fled representing a fictional version of Jenny Trelawney’s life, an impressive five page author’s note provides the reader with plenty of historical backing.
Early life in Australia may bore some, but Keneally weaves her magic over this superb slice of Australia’s past and she injects new life into times gone by. It is important that present day Australians, especially younger generations, are made of aware of the amazing stories and people from our past. Fled bridges that important gap between history and contemporary life. Keneally presents a convincing tale that pulls in all the stops. From the dangers and threat of capture as a thief, to the depths of despair Jenny experiences when she is incarcerated, to the perilous journey on board the ship bound for Australia, through to Jenny’s life in the new colony. What I admired about Keneally’s approach was her unflinching representation of the ugly ails of life during these incredibly hard times. We witness the drudgery, desperation, hovels, exploitation, abuse, disease, malnutrition, starvation, cruelty and injustice. These were cruel and ruthless times, but you had to make of it what you can, as Jenny Trelawney shows us.
Remarkable, revealing and riveting, Fled resurrects our nation’s past and fills in the grey areas of the fragrant life of Jenny Trelawney (Mary Bryant) within a robust historical tale. I would direct those who have a keen interest in Australia’s early settlement days to Meg Keneally’s book.
Fled is book #80 of the 2020 Australian Women Writers Challenge
September 24, 2020
In 1783 in Cornwall, Jenny Trelawney’s father dies, and her family is hard-pressed to survive. To avoid starvation, she turns to highway robbery. She eventually caught and sent to prison. She is fortunate not to be hanged and is sent to the new Australian penal colony. This book tells her story, including her transport by sea and her daring escape. Along the way, she suffers many hardships and tragedies.
Even though Jenny is no saint, I found myself rooting for her. She is a strong woman who refuses to be mentally defeated. She protects the vulnerable and befriends the aboriginal people. She is hardened by a difficult life but maintains her dignity and concern for others, as much as possible, in harsh conditions.
The book is a fictional version of the life of Mary Bryant, a real person. In the Afterward, the author indicates what is true and what is fiction. I was captured by the narrative and enjoyed the writing style. If you enjoy realistic historical fiction that does not employ excessive romanticism, check this one out.
Even though Jenny is no saint, I found myself rooting for her. She is a strong woman who refuses to be mentally defeated. She protects the vulnerable and befriends the aboriginal people. She is hardened by a difficult life but maintains her dignity and concern for others, as much as possible, in harsh conditions.
The book is a fictional version of the life of Mary Bryant, a real person. In the Afterward, the author indicates what is true and what is fiction. I was captured by the narrative and enjoyed the writing style. If you enjoy realistic historical fiction that does not employ excessive romanticism, check this one out.
February 13, 2020
This is a fabulous book, particularly enjoyable for those who like an historical background read.
The author has beautifully woven this story about Jenny Trelawney, (Mary Bryant) the main character who is the daughter of a fisherman, Cornwall 1783 and life is hard. Taxes paid to the king make life difficult for everyday people and where illegal activities are pursued just to have food to eat. Her father is taken by the sea leaving her family in an even more precarious situation. Her mother having no son to take the father's place as a fisherman sells their boat and Jenny, who is an outspoken young woman (not approved of in these times) realises that for her to gain employment she will have to leave her home town. Her mother is suffering from depression after the loss of her husband and offers little support for Jenny, her work as a laundress begins to suffer also. Her sister of a different nature is in service and offers some financial support to this small family.
Jenny hoofs it and it's on this journey that life takes a dramatic change for the worst with her ultimately being shipped off to Australia as a convict.
Australia, so far away, a land with its own beauty but so remarkably different from anything that Jenny would have known. A harsh and rugged land that at this time of the first settlement would have offered nothing to anyone, free or convict. However, this is where Jenny's strong character and past life's experiences put her in good stead. Her knowledge of salting fish and putting it away for future times as well as her knowledge of fishing and the sea along with her efforts to trap a husband means that she is able to have a rough shack away from the other convicts.
Escape is always on everyone's mind and as the book progresses an opportunity arises whereby a plan is put into place to do just that. Once again it's Jenny's fortitude that keeps her 2 small children and crew safe arriving in a foreign but safe country. However Jenny's bad luck returns again and things take a turn for the worst, but as it has been for all her life good fortune returns once again to her from an unlikely benefactor.
The author has beautifully woven this story about Jenny Trelawney, (Mary Bryant) the main character who is the daughter of a fisherman, Cornwall 1783 and life is hard. Taxes paid to the king make life difficult for everyday people and where illegal activities are pursued just to have food to eat. Her father is taken by the sea leaving her family in an even more precarious situation. Her mother having no son to take the father's place as a fisherman sells their boat and Jenny, who is an outspoken young woman (not approved of in these times) realises that for her to gain employment she will have to leave her home town. Her mother is suffering from depression after the loss of her husband and offers little support for Jenny, her work as a laundress begins to suffer also. Her sister of a different nature is in service and offers some financial support to this small family.
Jenny hoofs it and it's on this journey that life takes a dramatic change for the worst with her ultimately being shipped off to Australia as a convict.
Australia, so far away, a land with its own beauty but so remarkably different from anything that Jenny would have known. A harsh and rugged land that at this time of the first settlement would have offered nothing to anyone, free or convict. However, this is where Jenny's strong character and past life's experiences put her in good stead. Her knowledge of salting fish and putting it away for future times as well as her knowledge of fishing and the sea along with her efforts to trap a husband means that she is able to have a rough shack away from the other convicts.
Escape is always on everyone's mind and as the book progresses an opportunity arises whereby a plan is put into place to do just that. Once again it's Jenny's fortitude that keeps her 2 small children and crew safe arriving in a foreign but safe country. However Jenny's bad luck returns again and things take a turn for the worst, but as it has been for all her life good fortune returns once again to her from an unlikely benefactor.
June 30, 2019
‘A girl of torn skirts and wet feet, a creature of the sea as her sister was a product of the hearth.’
Cornwall, 1783. Jenny Trelawney’s father is a fisherman, and Jenny has helped him. But when he dies at sea, the Trelawneys are forced to sell the boat. They need the money. But the money doesn’t last long, and Jenny’s mother is too full of grief to pay attention to the laundry she used to take in for payment. Jenny’s sister is in service, but Jenny’s too restless. She becomes a highwaywoman – until her luck runs out. Tried, convicted and sentenced to death, Jenny’s sentence is commuted to seven years transportation. She is amongst the convicts transported to New South Wales on the First Fleet in 1787, arriving in January 1788.
‘Rumours, of course, were as contagious as any disease down in the darkness, fed by boredom until they grew grotesque.’
Once in New South Wales, with her baby daughter Charlotte, she marries Dan Glyn, a fisherman. And, as famine threatens the small settlement, Jenny believes that escape is necessary, in order to survive. Jenny and her daughter Charlotte, her husband Dan and their son Emmanuel, together with a handful of other convicts, plan their escape. They set off in a small boat to travel some 5,000 kilometres to Coepang (on the island of Timor, then under the control of the Dutch). But this is only part of Jenny’s journey.
‘There was the salt and the air.’
This is Meg Keneally’s debut solo novel and was inspired by the extraordinary life of Mary Bryant. If you know Mary Bryant’s story, you’ll have some idea where this novel will take you. But whether you know Mary Bryant’s story or not, be prepared for a totally absorbing story. Ms Keneally brings both characters and place to life: I can feel Jenny’s fierce need to protect her children and I can see how very alien Sydney Cove would have seemed. I wonder who will survive, and what will happen next.
I read this novel twice: first in paperback and then as an electronic review copy. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in reading well-written historical fiction.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Cornwall, 1783. Jenny Trelawney’s father is a fisherman, and Jenny has helped him. But when he dies at sea, the Trelawneys are forced to sell the boat. They need the money. But the money doesn’t last long, and Jenny’s mother is too full of grief to pay attention to the laundry she used to take in for payment. Jenny’s sister is in service, but Jenny’s too restless. She becomes a highwaywoman – until her luck runs out. Tried, convicted and sentenced to death, Jenny’s sentence is commuted to seven years transportation. She is amongst the convicts transported to New South Wales on the First Fleet in 1787, arriving in January 1788.
‘Rumours, of course, were as contagious as any disease down in the darkness, fed by boredom until they grew grotesque.’
Once in New South Wales, with her baby daughter Charlotte, she marries Dan Glyn, a fisherman. And, as famine threatens the small settlement, Jenny believes that escape is necessary, in order to survive. Jenny and her daughter Charlotte, her husband Dan and their son Emmanuel, together with a handful of other convicts, plan their escape. They set off in a small boat to travel some 5,000 kilometres to Coepang (on the island of Timor, then under the control of the Dutch). But this is only part of Jenny’s journey.
‘There was the salt and the air.’
This is Meg Keneally’s debut solo novel and was inspired by the extraordinary life of Mary Bryant. If you know Mary Bryant’s story, you’ll have some idea where this novel will take you. But whether you know Mary Bryant’s story or not, be prepared for a totally absorbing story. Ms Keneally brings both characters and place to life: I can feel Jenny’s fierce need to protect her children and I can see how very alien Sydney Cove would have seemed. I wonder who will survive, and what will happen next.
I read this novel twice: first in paperback and then as an electronic review copy. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in reading well-written historical fiction.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
April 21, 2019
Inspired by the life of Mary Bryant, the woman behind one of history’s most daring escapes, Fled takes the reader on an incredible historic adventure, from Cornwall to Australia, and then beyond. It’s an exceptional tale of endurance and survival, the events and characters interwoven throughout the story firmly embedded in history.
‘This woman, thought Jenny, has never had to eat limpets. Has never had to experience the kind of cold that kills a baby. Has never had to worry that an absent school of pilchards will destroy her. Perhaps her father had paid for the necklace, the bonnet, the shawl. Perhaps he yet lived, and had no need to choose between starving and placing himself in the hands of the midnight sea.’
I’ve read many novels about convicts and early settlement of Australia, but Fled is the first I have read that is about the first fleet. What an astonishing account this was, beyond hardship and the realms of reasonable justice for crimes committed. Survival was such a tenuous concept. I have to wonder what sort of short straws the admiralty drew in order to get sent to the newest colony of the British Empire. It certainly wasn’t a reward posting! Their conditions were only fractionally better than that of the convicts. And the treatment of convicts was so bad, an unending abuse of human rights that seemed perfectly acceptable within the context of the era. What a depraved legacy for the British Empire.
‘Some of the female convicts had been in there for months, some longer. Some had nearly served out their sentence. True to the word of the overseer on the deck, there were no canvas slops for any of them, so that those who had sat in their own ordure for any length of time wore ragged shadows of the clothes they had stood in to hear the sentence of the court.’
This is also my first taste of the writing of Meg Keneally. I find her style so richly atmospheric, she really pulls you in to the story, puts you right into Jenny’s shoes. I felt entirely wrapped up in this adventure, enraged at the terrible injustices heaped upon Jenny, sorrowful about the inevitability of the tragedies that unfolded. The details of what the first fleet experienced were so meticulously wrought, from establishing some measure of order out of the chaos of having so many people condensed into a society without structure or the means to flourish, to first contact with the native Aboriginal people and the endless misunderstandings that ensued. I whipped through this novel, barely wanting to put it down, it was so enthralling.
‘There was enough light, just, for Jenny to make out the glowering shape of South Head. Even had there not been, she would have known they were leaving the harbour. The seas became rougher; the nose of the boat rose and then fell, sending spray onto those in the front. But she would never know if that night lookout was asleep, or daydreaming, or unable to see far enough in the darkness. She would never know if the sound of their passage, which seemed to cry out like a horn, was loud enough to echo up the cliff into his ears. No musket was fired, no signal fire was lit, and no shouted warnings floated across the bay.’
What I loved about Jenny was that despite her criminality, which was something she literally fell into, she was ultimately a protector. Once she became a mother, every single thing she did, every decision she made, was for the protection of her children. When faced with starvation at Sydney Cove, she plots and convinces her husband that escape from the colony is their only means of survival. What follows is one of the most extraordinary journeys of escape. When I examined the map included with the story, I was rather stunned that they survived. The distance they traversed, how close they came to death, on more than one occasion. That this novel is based on a real woman from history – wow!
‘She knew the newspapers usually thundered against people like her, calling for their excision from the civic body. But not now. Now, they had found someone of exactly the right shape around which to build a scaffold of martyrdom and heroism. Someone to be pitied and admired all at once. Someone who could bring people close to danger, without them actually having to smell it. Several of the papers had taken to calling for mercy for this woman who had risked so much, gained so much and lost so much.’
But this journey of escape is not where Jenny’s journey ends. Unfortunately, life was ready to continually remind her of her insignificance as a convict, over and over. There is a lot of sorrow throughout this story and it’s grim for the most part, but I never felt weighted down by this. The history and Meg’s deft hand with shaping her story more than compensated for all of the misery, along with the hope sprinkled into the ending. This is very much the type of historical fiction I enjoy the most. I highly recommend Fled, it’s an excellent novel that deserves a wide readership and the highest of accolades.
‘He was the kind of person whose death stood politely behind the door like a servant with a tray. Present out of necessity, but easy to ignore. When it eventually did step into the drawing room, its arrival would be marked by a genteel funeral with restrained mourners. Jenny’s death sat with her in prison, whispering promises of public putrefaction. It had walked in shrunken skin beside her at Sydney Cove. It sat with her on the boat, eyeless and bloated. And it had crouched just behind the horizon in Coepang.’
Thanks is extended to Allen and Unwin for providing me with a copy of Fled for review.
‘This woman, thought Jenny, has never had to eat limpets. Has never had to experience the kind of cold that kills a baby. Has never had to worry that an absent school of pilchards will destroy her. Perhaps her father had paid for the necklace, the bonnet, the shawl. Perhaps he yet lived, and had no need to choose between starving and placing himself in the hands of the midnight sea.’
I’ve read many novels about convicts and early settlement of Australia, but Fled is the first I have read that is about the first fleet. What an astonishing account this was, beyond hardship and the realms of reasonable justice for crimes committed. Survival was such a tenuous concept. I have to wonder what sort of short straws the admiralty drew in order to get sent to the newest colony of the British Empire. It certainly wasn’t a reward posting! Their conditions were only fractionally better than that of the convicts. And the treatment of convicts was so bad, an unending abuse of human rights that seemed perfectly acceptable within the context of the era. What a depraved legacy for the British Empire.
‘Some of the female convicts had been in there for months, some longer. Some had nearly served out their sentence. True to the word of the overseer on the deck, there were no canvas slops for any of them, so that those who had sat in their own ordure for any length of time wore ragged shadows of the clothes they had stood in to hear the sentence of the court.’
This is also my first taste of the writing of Meg Keneally. I find her style so richly atmospheric, she really pulls you in to the story, puts you right into Jenny’s shoes. I felt entirely wrapped up in this adventure, enraged at the terrible injustices heaped upon Jenny, sorrowful about the inevitability of the tragedies that unfolded. The details of what the first fleet experienced were so meticulously wrought, from establishing some measure of order out of the chaos of having so many people condensed into a society without structure or the means to flourish, to first contact with the native Aboriginal people and the endless misunderstandings that ensued. I whipped through this novel, barely wanting to put it down, it was so enthralling.
‘There was enough light, just, for Jenny to make out the glowering shape of South Head. Even had there not been, she would have known they were leaving the harbour. The seas became rougher; the nose of the boat rose and then fell, sending spray onto those in the front. But she would never know if that night lookout was asleep, or daydreaming, or unable to see far enough in the darkness. She would never know if the sound of their passage, which seemed to cry out like a horn, was loud enough to echo up the cliff into his ears. No musket was fired, no signal fire was lit, and no shouted warnings floated across the bay.’
What I loved about Jenny was that despite her criminality, which was something she literally fell into, she was ultimately a protector. Once she became a mother, every single thing she did, every decision she made, was for the protection of her children. When faced with starvation at Sydney Cove, she plots and convinces her husband that escape from the colony is their only means of survival. What follows is one of the most extraordinary journeys of escape. When I examined the map included with the story, I was rather stunned that they survived. The distance they traversed, how close they came to death, on more than one occasion. That this novel is based on a real woman from history – wow!
‘She knew the newspapers usually thundered against people like her, calling for their excision from the civic body. But not now. Now, they had found someone of exactly the right shape around which to build a scaffold of martyrdom and heroism. Someone to be pitied and admired all at once. Someone who could bring people close to danger, without them actually having to smell it. Several of the papers had taken to calling for mercy for this woman who had risked so much, gained so much and lost so much.’
But this journey of escape is not where Jenny’s journey ends. Unfortunately, life was ready to continually remind her of her insignificance as a convict, over and over. There is a lot of sorrow throughout this story and it’s grim for the most part, but I never felt weighted down by this. The history and Meg’s deft hand with shaping her story more than compensated for all of the misery, along with the hope sprinkled into the ending. This is very much the type of historical fiction I enjoy the most. I highly recommend Fled, it’s an excellent novel that deserves a wide readership and the highest of accolades.
‘He was the kind of person whose death stood politely behind the door like a servant with a tray. Present out of necessity, but easy to ignore. When it eventually did step into the drawing room, its arrival would be marked by a genteel funeral with restrained mourners. Jenny’s death sat with her in prison, whispering promises of public putrefaction. It had walked in shrunken skin beside her at Sydney Cove. It sat with her on the boat, eyeless and bloated. And it had crouched just behind the horizon in Coepang.’
Thanks is extended to Allen and Unwin for providing me with a copy of Fled for review.
Want to read
January 8, 2021
April 28, 2019
What an incredible story based on true life of Mary Bryant, one of the first convicts to be transported to Australia. This is historical fiction though and Mary becomes Jenny, but the tale is still astonishing and gripping. A proper adventure, horrific and based on choices that were never really choices, just a fight for survival.
April 9, 2019
As my friend Jane would say - What A Book!
It is hard to warrant that this is a first novel as the storytelling is compelling, the characters are rich and vibrant, the pacing is absolutely spot on. It really does drag you in to the tale and you can even get the odd evocative whiff of the sea whilst reading (and some other things as well but they are nowhere near as pleasant). Although based on the tale of a real woman, the author admits to taking a lot of latitude with the facts (slim as they are) and this has led to a wonderfully detailed and enveloping story.
Jenny comes from a small, coastal Devon village and has been fishing since she could walk. When her father suffers a fatal accident at sea she is left with a sister who has to move from home to work and a mother smothered under a pall of grief. In order to keep body and soul together she falls (quite literally) in to a life of crime. A life that will lead her to either the gallows or transportation. Jenny is lucky and gets sentenced to seven years transportation but this is the early years and there are, as yet, no settlements in the Antipodes and conditions are, shall we say challenging.
We go through the whole journey with Jenny. From beloved daughter, to criminal, to the horror of the cramped quarters in the hulk, to the worse horrors of the brig that takes them on an interminable ocean voyage. Friendships are forged, enemies are made and Jenny takes control of her destiny in the only way a woman could in those days by using her wits and her body. All the way through I could not help but cheer her on. Whether meeting local tribespeople or enrapturing Officers of the Fleet she is a tour de force.
The cast of supporting characters is vast and nuanced, from fellow transportees to officers and through on to gaolers and lawyers they all have that little something about them that brings them to life for the reader. The living conditions are well described without descending in to mawkishness or salacious unnecessary detail which I find often happens in lesser hands than those of this author.
Simply a fantastically absorbing book that I really did not want to finish.
A word of advice though don't read the author notes on the real inspiration for Jenny before you read the book - it does give away some cataclysmic events that befall the transportees. Normally when reading a fictionalised account of a real person's life (Lyndsay Jayne Ashford does this genre so well) I will read the notes first as they set the scene nicely for what I am about to read. Unfortunately Ms Keneally gives away a little too much of the plot for them to be read first without spoiling the twists of the tale.
THIS IS AN HONEST REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED FROM READERS FIRST.
It is hard to warrant that this is a first novel as the storytelling is compelling, the characters are rich and vibrant, the pacing is absolutely spot on. It really does drag you in to the tale and you can even get the odd evocative whiff of the sea whilst reading (and some other things as well but they are nowhere near as pleasant). Although based on the tale of a real woman, the author admits to taking a lot of latitude with the facts (slim as they are) and this has led to a wonderfully detailed and enveloping story.
Jenny comes from a small, coastal Devon village and has been fishing since she could walk. When her father suffers a fatal accident at sea she is left with a sister who has to move from home to work and a mother smothered under a pall of grief. In order to keep body and soul together she falls (quite literally) in to a life of crime. A life that will lead her to either the gallows or transportation. Jenny is lucky and gets sentenced to seven years transportation but this is the early years and there are, as yet, no settlements in the Antipodes and conditions are, shall we say challenging.
We go through the whole journey with Jenny. From beloved daughter, to criminal, to the horror of the cramped quarters in the hulk, to the worse horrors of the brig that takes them on an interminable ocean voyage. Friendships are forged, enemies are made and Jenny takes control of her destiny in the only way a woman could in those days by using her wits and her body. All the way through I could not help but cheer her on. Whether meeting local tribespeople or enrapturing Officers of the Fleet she is a tour de force.
The cast of supporting characters is vast and nuanced, from fellow transportees to officers and through on to gaolers and lawyers they all have that little something about them that brings them to life for the reader. The living conditions are well described without descending in to mawkishness or salacious unnecessary detail which I find often happens in lesser hands than those of this author.
Simply a fantastically absorbing book that I really did not want to finish.
A word of advice though don't read the author notes on the real inspiration for Jenny before you read the book - it does give away some cataclysmic events that befall the transportees. Normally when reading a fictionalised account of a real person's life (Lyndsay Jayne Ashford does this genre so well) I will read the notes first as they set the scene nicely for what I am about to read. Unfortunately Ms Keneally gives away a little too much of the plot for them to be read first without spoiling the twists of the tale.
THIS IS AN HONEST REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED FROM READERS FIRST.
June 10, 2019
Meg Keneally’s debut solo novel is described as ‘an epic historical adventure based on the extraordinary life of convict Mary Bryant’. In her historical note, the author explains where the story departs from known facts – relatively few occasions, as it happens – and where fictional characters replace their real life counterparts.
The prologue, set in 1791, provides a taste of the remarkable events that will unfold but first of all the reader is transported back in time to Cornwall in 1783. When Jenny Trelawney’s fisherman father is killed at sea, she chances upon highway robbery as a way to keep her family from poverty. This is despite her fear of ending up as one of the grisly corpses displayed at the crossroads, Four Turnings. (Perhaps a little nod there to the opening lines of Daphne du Maurier’s novel My Cousin Rachel: ‘They used to hang men at Four Turnings in the old days’.) Her encounter with the mysterious highwayman, Mr. Black, draws Jenny further into a life of crime that ultimately sees her convicted of robbery and sentenced to death.
The commutation of her sentence to transportation seems like a lucky escape until the horrors of the voyage to Australia are revealed. Once there, and now with the protection of a husband, Dan Gwyn, things are little better. The newly established convict colony struggle to support themselves. Starvation and disease are always close at hand. Contrary to the actions of the Governor and his staff, Jenny welcomes contact from the indigenous people who provide valuable information that enables the colonists to survive, but only barely. Jenny also benefits from help from a rather unexpected source. (I initially thought it was a bit too convenient and rather unlikely but learned from the author’s historical note that it is based on fact.)
Jenny realises there is no future for her and those she loves in Australia and sets out to convince Dan and others that escape is the only option, notwithstanding the perils that await them at sea. As she says, their most valuable asset is that they possess “The skill to leave, and the courage to do it’. Those perils are thrillingly brought to life in the part of the book I found most compelling. After what can only be described as an epic adventure on the high seas, Jenny and her companions seem to have reached safety but will it prove short-lived or is there a possibility of a more hopeful future?
Jenny (or rather her real life counterpart, Mary Bryant) is a remarkable character brought convincingly to life by the author. Jenny’s determination to take control of her own destiny is admirable and not easily resisted by those around her. When she remarks to husband, Dan, “You are a brave man” he replies, “Not brave enough to defy you.” Fled is a compelling and skilfully told story of courage, resolve and fortitude that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The prologue, set in 1791, provides a taste of the remarkable events that will unfold but first of all the reader is transported back in time to Cornwall in 1783. When Jenny Trelawney’s fisherman father is killed at sea, she chances upon highway robbery as a way to keep her family from poverty. This is despite her fear of ending up as one of the grisly corpses displayed at the crossroads, Four Turnings. (Perhaps a little nod there to the opening lines of Daphne du Maurier’s novel My Cousin Rachel: ‘They used to hang men at Four Turnings in the old days’.) Her encounter with the mysterious highwayman, Mr. Black, draws Jenny further into a life of crime that ultimately sees her convicted of robbery and sentenced to death.
The commutation of her sentence to transportation seems like a lucky escape until the horrors of the voyage to Australia are revealed. Once there, and now with the protection of a husband, Dan Gwyn, things are little better. The newly established convict colony struggle to support themselves. Starvation and disease are always close at hand. Contrary to the actions of the Governor and his staff, Jenny welcomes contact from the indigenous people who provide valuable information that enables the colonists to survive, but only barely. Jenny also benefits from help from a rather unexpected source. (I initially thought it was a bit too convenient and rather unlikely but learned from the author’s historical note that it is based on fact.)
Jenny realises there is no future for her and those she loves in Australia and sets out to convince Dan and others that escape is the only option, notwithstanding the perils that await them at sea. As she says, their most valuable asset is that they possess “The skill to leave, and the courage to do it’. Those perils are thrillingly brought to life in the part of the book I found most compelling. After what can only be described as an epic adventure on the high seas, Jenny and her companions seem to have reached safety but will it prove short-lived or is there a possibility of a more hopeful future?
Jenny (or rather her real life counterpart, Mary Bryant) is a remarkable character brought convincingly to life by the author. Jenny’s determination to take control of her own destiny is admirable and not easily resisted by those around her. When she remarks to husband, Dan, “You are a brave man” he replies, “Not brave enough to defy you.” Fled is a compelling and skilfully told story of courage, resolve and fortitude that I thoroughly enjoyed.
July 28, 2019
As usual for me, I was initially cautious. However, I soon found myself caught up in this compelling narrative based on a true story of a female convict sent to Australia in the first days of its settlement by Europeans. Thank you very much, Beata, for your review, which decided me to buy the book.
I was impressed by the amount of research done and by the detail the author sets out, unflinchingly. I would say that I was hooked as soon as the description of the voyage began. The protagonist is truly a heroine, although not in a milk-white sense. She's tough and extraordinary. She does what she has to do to survive the appalling conditions of the journey and of the new settlement in Sydney Cove, while remaining uncompromising in her courage and independence. One thing I liked about this book is that none of the adult characters is wholly good, and only one, I would say, is shown as wholly bad – and he is a real character from history. The author is careful at the end to set out what is true and what she has added to the known facts. The last section is her invention – what she calls “a complete fabrication” , and she says she gave Mary Bryant (the convict’s real name) the ending she felt she deserved. I didn't like what she did with the last section and would have preferred to leave Mary, alias Jenny, at the point where our recorded knowledge of her ends; having said that, I loved the very last line of the book, which, of course, I can’t quote! My favourite quote comes during the story when a Dutch captain sits at Jenny’s table. He remarks,
“I thought all English were cold and superior.”
“We’re not English,” Jenny said, “We’re Cornish.”
The story was enhanced for me because I happen to be watching the Cornish story, “Poldark” on television just now – set round about the same time. Not that it goes to Australia! One thing I’d have liked more of was the relationship Jenney had with the Eora people – that was well done, and one senses that that would be the only thing that Mary/Jenny would miss about her life in Sydney Cove.
Every time I read a story such as this I am humbled by what humanity has undergone – and continues to undergo, in places less sheltered than my home. Meg Keneally brings to life, in a very personal and practical way, the abominations of eighteenth-century Britain and the degradations forced upon the wretched and starving populace by those with wealth and power. I hesitate to reveal anything of the story, but I think it’s worth remarking that there is a certain irony for us in the late intervention of a figure of wealth and power, an intervention that stems not from compassion, but is done for their own ends; and, linked with this, the spurious role played towards the end by populism, as we would call it nowadays.
Jenny is a victim, as was the real woman, Mary, but she shows no self-pity, even when certain terrible events overcome her. A major theme is trust, or, I should probably say, the need to mistrust. How far rescuable is hope? The end may help you decide. But in the midst of your admiration for this remarkable woman, her story will kill something in you.
I was impressed by the amount of research done and by the detail the author sets out, unflinchingly. I would say that I was hooked as soon as the description of the voyage began. The protagonist is truly a heroine, although not in a milk-white sense. She's tough and extraordinary. She does what she has to do to survive the appalling conditions of the journey and of the new settlement in Sydney Cove, while remaining uncompromising in her courage and independence. One thing I liked about this book is that none of the adult characters is wholly good, and only one, I would say, is shown as wholly bad – and he is a real character from history. The author is careful at the end to set out what is true and what she has added to the known facts. The last section is her invention – what she calls “a complete fabrication” , and she says she gave Mary Bryant (the convict’s real name) the ending she felt she deserved. I didn't like what she did with the last section and would have preferred to leave Mary, alias Jenny, at the point where our recorded knowledge of her ends; having said that, I loved the very last line of the book, which, of course, I can’t quote! My favourite quote comes during the story when a Dutch captain sits at Jenny’s table. He remarks,
“I thought all English were cold and superior.”
“We’re not English,” Jenny said, “We’re Cornish.”
The story was enhanced for me because I happen to be watching the Cornish story, “Poldark” on television just now – set round about the same time. Not that it goes to Australia! One thing I’d have liked more of was the relationship Jenney had with the Eora people – that was well done, and one senses that that would be the only thing that Mary/Jenny would miss about her life in Sydney Cove.
Every time I read a story such as this I am humbled by what humanity has undergone – and continues to undergo, in places less sheltered than my home. Meg Keneally brings to life, in a very personal and practical way, the abominations of eighteenth-century Britain and the degradations forced upon the wretched and starving populace by those with wealth and power. I hesitate to reveal anything of the story, but I think it’s worth remarking that there is a certain irony for us in the late intervention of a figure of wealth and power, an intervention that stems not from compassion, but is done for their own ends; and, linked with this, the spurious role played towards the end by populism, as we would call it nowadays.
Jenny is a victim, as was the real woman, Mary, but she shows no self-pity, even when certain terrible events overcome her. A major theme is trust, or, I should probably say, the need to mistrust. How far rescuable is hope? The end may help you decide. But in the midst of your admiration for this remarkable woman, her story will kill something in you.
January 26, 2020
"Between 1788 and 1868, around 162,000 convicts were shipped across the ocean by the British government for detainment in penal colonies scattered across Australia. The earliest of which was located in The Rocks. Most convicts brought to Sydney, or New Holland as it was called then, were being punished for mere petty crimes.
Convicted of stealing a silk bonnet, Mary Bryant was one of the first women prisoners brought to The Rocks in 1788. However, in 1791, Mary schemed a masterful plan to escape along with her husband, two children and 7 other prisoners."
http://seekersunite.com/sydney/therocks/
........"........
Based on the life story of one of Sydney's [Australia] most recognized historical figures, this embellished account of Mary Bryant's life after being transported to Australia on the convict ship 'Charlotte,' is a compelling and intriguing work of fiction.
Anyone familiar with The Rocks area in Sydney's Circular Quay will surely have heard of Mary Bryant and her infamous beginnings in the Colony.
Right from the start this book compels the reader to continue listening to the unfolding story as you immediately begin to get an anxious feel for the experiences ahead of Mary Bryant and her two children, strapped as they were by ropes, to the small boat in which they were fleeing for their lives.
It is 1791 and they are in a small crudely modified and outfitted boat, somewhere in the Tasman Sea, off the New South Wales coast. A notoriously dangerous stretch of water to sail under any circumstances....particularly hazardous for a small boat totally unsuited to conditions which would challenge even the hulking convict ship in which they first arrived in the colony, and from which they are now attempting escape.
There are five adult passengers and two children..babies really..in the small boat, Mary being the only adult female.
Her husband is at the tiller fighting for control of the too small vessel, whilst the other three miscreants on-board were, for various reasons, of little if any help in assisting to navigating their boat to safety.
As huge waves pound relentlessly at the small boat, their physical stamina and mental endurance is being tested to the full, as they now quietly contemplate their future and question the choices they collectively made to flee the insufferable forces that compelled them to fulfill this brazen attempt at freedom.
They need to find land, hopefully with fresh water and some food sources, where they can rest and restore their energies, before continuing on their long and arduous journey towards a freedom they can only imagine and pray awaits them.
To the best of my knowledge this is Meg Keneally's first solo book of fiction...
She has co authored a series of historical fiction with her renowned author father, Tom Keneally, called The Monsarrat series which is also an exceptionally good Australian historical fiction, and highly recommended by this reader.
A hugely compelling read!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to lovers of historical fiction as well as lovers of a great read involving action packed adventure, intrigue and thrilling challenges, as well as an element of historical truth.
5⭐️'s
With many thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my digital copy to read and review.
Convicted of stealing a silk bonnet, Mary Bryant was one of the first women prisoners brought to The Rocks in 1788. However, in 1791, Mary schemed a masterful plan to escape along with her husband, two children and 7 other prisoners."
http://seekersunite.com/sydney/therocks/
........"........
Based on the life story of one of Sydney's [Australia] most recognized historical figures, this embellished account of Mary Bryant's life after being transported to Australia on the convict ship 'Charlotte,' is a compelling and intriguing work of fiction.
Anyone familiar with The Rocks area in Sydney's Circular Quay will surely have heard of Mary Bryant and her infamous beginnings in the Colony.
Right from the start this book compels the reader to continue listening to the unfolding story as you immediately begin to get an anxious feel for the experiences ahead of Mary Bryant and her two children, strapped as they were by ropes, to the small boat in which they were fleeing for their lives.
It is 1791 and they are in a small crudely modified and outfitted boat, somewhere in the Tasman Sea, off the New South Wales coast. A notoriously dangerous stretch of water to sail under any circumstances....particularly hazardous for a small boat totally unsuited to conditions which would challenge even the hulking convict ship in which they first arrived in the colony, and from which they are now attempting escape.
There are five adult passengers and two children..babies really..in the small boat, Mary being the only adult female.
Her husband is at the tiller fighting for control of the too small vessel, whilst the other three miscreants on-board were, for various reasons, of little if any help in assisting to navigating their boat to safety.
As huge waves pound relentlessly at the small boat, their physical stamina and mental endurance is being tested to the full, as they now quietly contemplate their future and question the choices they collectively made to flee the insufferable forces that compelled them to fulfill this brazen attempt at freedom.
They need to find land, hopefully with fresh water and some food sources, where they can rest and restore their energies, before continuing on their long and arduous journey towards a freedom they can only imagine and pray awaits them.
To the best of my knowledge this is Meg Keneally's first solo book of fiction...
She has co authored a series of historical fiction with her renowned author father, Tom Keneally, called The Monsarrat series which is also an exceptionally good Australian historical fiction, and highly recommended by this reader.
A hugely compelling read!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to lovers of historical fiction as well as lovers of a great read involving action packed adventure, intrigue and thrilling challenges, as well as an element of historical truth.
5⭐️'s
With many thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my digital copy to read and review.
April 23, 2019
Visit the locations in the novel
I love stories which mix fact and fiction. When they do it this well, I almost want to hug the book.
This is a fictional account of the true story of Mary Bryant, a convict who was sent by boat to the colony in NSW, Australia. Her life, from her time living in Cornwall, and then Plymouth is documented first. There is little known of the real Mary Bryant so this helps to visualise her and her life before the journey to the colony. The court scenes in particular reveal the level and methods of justice metered out at the time. This part of the novel is an addition we are told, yet you can imagine this is very realistic and insightful.
For me, once Jenny (the character’s name in the book) was on board the ship, the book revealed yet another side of this thrilling and dangerous story. The journey took weeks and was very uncomfortable. It was fascinating to be on that ship with the convicts and you can feel their fear of the unknown. Conditions were poor and the journey endless. All was well evoked with the five senses. I almost felt seasick, it was that good.
That’s not even the most eventful part of the story. Mary Bryant has a baby on board. Once at the colony, she and a few others plan their escape. This new journey takes them some 69 days and takes them to Indonesia. I won’t say what happens next but it was a fascinating account of one woman’s efforts to evade justice. I became very keen to see her escape, despite her status as a prisoner. The strength and perseverance of this woman back then was admirable. Is this the right word for describing a fugitive? Probably not. But Mary/Jenny was that kind of character for me.
What a wonderfully adventurous novel. For a debut, this is particularly stunning. Woven with style, built on solid research and an insight into times past. High jinks on the High Seas.
June 8, 2019
Fled by Meg Keneally is a historical fiction novel, based on the true story of Mary Bryant. It tells the story of Jenny Gwyn, who must save her family from poverty and starvation by becoming a highwaywoman. She is arrested and then condemned to death. But instead of being hanged, she is sentenced to be transported to Australia, England's new colony, to help settle it. On the journey by ship to Australia, she is forced to sell her body for protection. While Jenny hopes that Australia will be a fresh start, she quickly learns that this is not the case. Not only is the climate unforgiving, but she and others are also still prisoners under Governor Edward Lockharty. Jenny is desperate for her and her children's freedom and refuses to submit to the Governor. She escapes Australia in a small rowboat in a journey of over 3000 miles by sea.
I really wanted to like Fled. I usually enjoy historical fiction based on true stories, especially when they are based on heroines such as Mary Bryant. While it seems that other readers enjoyed this book, for some reason I didn't respond to or enjoy the author's style. I found the book hard to get through and started skimming through it. It didn't work for me but I can't pinpoint a precise reason. I will say that this book did not transport me to the time period and I did not feel as if the author made the reader an active participant in the story, which to me, is an important attribute of my favorite historical fiction novels.
Thank you to Netgalley and Arcade for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to like Fled. I usually enjoy historical fiction based on true stories, especially when they are based on heroines such as Mary Bryant. While it seems that other readers enjoyed this book, for some reason I didn't respond to or enjoy the author's style. I found the book hard to get through and started skimming through it. It didn't work for me but I can't pinpoint a precise reason. I will say that this book did not transport me to the time period and I did not feel as if the author made the reader an active participant in the story, which to me, is an important attribute of my favorite historical fiction novels.
Thank you to Netgalley and Arcade for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 17, 2019
A book you cannot put down that transports you in the best way, not how the convicts were transported, from the damp forests of Cornwall to Australia and back . Based on a true story of Mary Bryant, the author brings this courageous woman to life, as she springs from the pages dealing with poverty, illness and tragedy and a relentless pursuit of freedom.
Every character is well drawn, whether casually kind, or calculatedly vicious, and you can feel the swell of the sea and the stench of the bilge in the ships that thrust the convicts onto what was not an empty shore.
Every character is well drawn, whether casually kind, or calculatedly vicious, and you can feel the swell of the sea and the stench of the bilge in the ships that thrust the convicts onto what was not an empty shore.
June 9, 2019
It is hard for me to figure out why I didn't love this book. Mary Bryant was a worthy historical figure with plenty of hardship and courage to make for an interesting story. Once I started I really had to work hard not to give up on it. I think the recount of Mary's backstory dragged on (she is named Jenny Trelawny in the book). Her family life, forest dwelling and time waiting for transportation was important context but I felt it took too long to get to the sections of interest. It wasn't until the escape that I became really interested and astounded at the realities of this achievement. I was surprised that Jenny didn't have more anguish over the risk the whole escapade presented to the survival of her children and was unsatisfied about how she and Dan convinced themselves that escaping by sea in a little boat was going to give them a better chance at life than staying in the colony. I know my expectations of the convict's drive for freedom and escape from hardship are no more valid than Meg Keneally's but the gamble was tremendous and I expected more a more dramatic illustration of the weighing of their despair with the uncertainty of succeeding at something so fantastical. I was also a bit disappointed with the depiction of Jenny and Dan's relationship. Dan starts out as likeable and a good catch, and there seems to be an element of mutual admiration/attraction. This just felt a bit incongruous to where they end up and other points of provocation between them, especially given the audacious undertaking they plan and execute together. Despite these musings and a slow start, I did enjoy this tale. Meg Keneally really bought to light a remarkable woman who survived a never ending barrage of hardship and sorrow.
May 3, 2021
This is Meg Keneally’s first solo effort after co-authoring the Monsarrat series of historical crime novels with her father Tom Keneally. I enjoyed this novel and felt it was well researched, better than some Australia tales involving early settlers and Indigenous people. Convict Jenny Trelawney and Governor Lockhart’s attempt at accord with the Eora mob is probably what we would have liked the settlers to do, e.g. a little bit of understanding goes a long way. Alas, colonisation brought bloodshed and disease and reconciliation is just a word. Further reading is listed along with a map of Jenny’s harrowing sea journey.
The ending strolled along, perhaps because I never really bonded with Jenny and Dan. Later Jenny is imprisoned, to quote Richard “...you are not powerless, Jenny. You are simply resting, preparing for the next escape” and she climbs the social ladder. Some chapters contain shocks, others have a tendency to ramble, some are simplistic with a perfunctory feel and transparent dialogue. Hopefully readers will learn and understand another side to Australia’s early history. But this book does not compare to my all-time favourite, the shadowy and utterly compelling ‘The Convict Girls’ series by Deborah Challinor.
The ending strolled along, perhaps because I never really bonded with Jenny and Dan. Later Jenny is imprisoned, to quote Richard “...you are not powerless, Jenny. You are simply resting, preparing for the next escape” and she climbs the social ladder. Some chapters contain shocks, others have a tendency to ramble, some are simplistic with a perfunctory feel and transparent dialogue. Hopefully readers will learn and understand another side to Australia’s early history. But this book does not compare to my all-time favourite, the shadowy and utterly compelling ‘The Convict Girls’ series by Deborah Challinor.
March 3, 2019
I enjoyed the storyline of fisherwoman Jenny, who becomes a highway robber, gets caught and ends up being transported to Australia. But all she longs to do is get away from the cruel brutally harsh existence, which even her own violent past couldn't prepare her for. But her skills in a boat may have done.
I was instantly captivated by the tale of convict Jenny yet all the way through her story felt very familiar. That's because it is loosely based around the true story of convict woman, Mary Bryant and whose re-hashed memoirs have inspired several fictional works, which I have read before. This is a slightly different take on the same story and well written enough to keep me turning the pages.
I was instantly captivated by the tale of convict Jenny yet all the way through her story felt very familiar. That's because it is loosely based around the true story of convict woman, Mary Bryant and whose re-hashed memoirs have inspired several fictional works, which I have read before. This is a slightly different take on the same story and well written enough to keep me turning the pages.
June 29, 2019
This is a fictionalised true tale of Mary Bryant, who became a highway woman to avoid destitution, was caught and sent to Sydney Cove. She had a child, married a fellow prisoner and realised that at that time there was not enough food to sustain all of the people in captivity, despite her and her husband's success in fishing. Mary, or Jenny in the book, decided the only way was to steal a boat and make their way up the coast of Australia to freedom. After a very arduous journey, with two children lashed to the boat, they found a port, but her husband betrayed them and they were recaptured and returned to England. During the journey back, her husband and two children died and she was returned to jail in London, eventually being pardoned.
April 19, 2020
This was a really interesting book, based on a true story, that I'm really glad I learned about. It's pretty amazing that something like this could and did happen.
We learn about a British woman convict who is transported to what is to become Sydney. She has children, marries, barely survives a few years in the convict colony and escapes. Her character was well done and I felt like I was there with her all along the way.
I had a couple of gripes though. One about how the author portrays the colony of 1500 people more as a tiny village with one powerful man, our main characters (good) and a couple of bad characters; a very simplified version that kept confusing me when the author reminded us there were 1500 people and even more later on. The other issue I had was how our main character was portrayed as whip-smart but her male companions were all mildly useful at best and would have been completely useless without her. I get it, and it could happen, but I would have liked a bit more effort in flushing out the male characters to make the circumstances more believable.
Oh and the ending which is complete fiction, but the author chose something more resembling fantasy and so unrealistic that a tale of harrowing struggles ends on a very cheesy eye-roll.
But these are minor gripes and I still highly recommend it.
We learn about a British woman convict who is transported to what is to become Sydney. She has children, marries, barely survives a few years in the convict colony and escapes. Her character was well done and I felt like I was there with her all along the way.
I had a couple of gripes though. One about how the author portrays the colony of 1500 people more as a tiny village with one powerful man, our main characters (good) and a couple of bad characters; a very simplified version that kept confusing me when the author reminded us there were 1500 people and even more later on. The other issue I had was how our main character was portrayed as whip-smart but her male companions were all mildly useful at best and would have been completely useless without her. I get it, and it could happen, but I would have liked a bit more effort in flushing out the male characters to make the circumstances more believable.
Oh and the ending which is complete fiction, but the author chose something more resembling fantasy and so unrealistic that a tale of harrowing struggles ends on a very cheesy eye-roll.
But these are minor gripes and I still highly recommend it.
March 22, 2020
Well constructed and written, this novel explored the true story of Mary Bryant, who was transported to Australia from Cornwall for the crime of robbery, or actually highway robbery.
Very enjoyable and I rate it 4.5.
Very enjoyable and I rate it 4.5.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 231 reviews