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Land of the Far Horizon #1
Voyage of the Exiles
Sentenced to the gallows as a convicted pickpocket, George Prentice's fortunes change when the sentence is reduced to serving seven years of hard labor in New South Wales. Along with over seven hundred British convicts destined for transport on a fleet of eleven ships, Prentice suddenly finds himself torn apart from his family and bound as a colony slave for a strange land sixteen thousand miles from England.
Not knowing that his daughter Katy has found employment with the fleet's captain, or that his wife Amelia has been falsely accused of stealing and sentenced for transporting on another slave ship, George Prentice mourns the loss of his family, believing they will be separated forever. Ruthless jailors, storms, sharks, disease, squalor, and broken hearts threaten to destroy their wills to live.
From the outset in 1787, the Botany Bay Expedition under Captain Arthur Phillip faces grave dangers at sea as well as on board ship. Unaware of what lies before them, will the exiles survive to brave the wild frontiers of Australia?
Not knowing that his daughter Katy has found employment with the fleet's captain, or that his wife Amelia has been falsely accused of stealing and sentenced for transporting on another slave ship, George Prentice mourns the loss of his family, believing they will be separated forever. Ruthless jailors, storms, sharks, disease, squalor, and broken hearts threaten to destroy their wills to live.
From the outset in 1787, the Botany Bay Expedition under Captain Arthur Phillip faces grave dangers at sea as well as on board ship. Unaware of what lies before them, will the exiles survive to brave the wild frontiers of Australia?
317 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
78 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Hickman
30 books42 followers“Hickman gamely unpacks the lies families tell each other, the cost of family secrets to ourselves and others, the bonds between sisters and the walls between husbands and wives. Her sparkling talent is evident in this engrossing story.” ~ Publishers Weekly
Best-selling novelist Patricia Hickman has written 18 books for major publishers like Random House and Hachette Books.
A note from me, the author: Hey! My latest teen fiction title is TINY DANCER, a coming of age story for sophisticated readers of young adult fiction—maybe you!
I love good food, taking road trips, hiking, and biking, but most of all writing you new stories you'll fall in love with. You can visit me here at Goodreads, through my official FB author page, or my website at patriciahickman.com.
Best-selling novelist Patricia Hickman has written 18 books for major publishers like Random House and Hachette Books.
A note from me, the author: Hey! My latest teen fiction title is TINY DANCER, a coming of age story for sophisticated readers of young adult fiction—maybe you!
I love good food, taking road trips, hiking, and biking, but most of all writing you new stories you'll fall in love with. You can visit me here at Goodreads, through my official FB author page, or my website at patriciahickman.com.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 20, 2019
I read this book as a kid, maybe in 7th or 8th grade. I had vague memories of the plot and how intrigued I was by the penal colony in Australia, but I didn’t remember much else, the title, the author, names of characters. But for some reason it came up in my mind and I was determined to find it and read it again. After a lot of research and searching high and low I finally found it! It’s not a very popular book and I’m thinking my school library probably had it because the author is from Louisiana.
It probably had more of an impact on me as a kid, but I still enjoyed it and I’m glad I reread it. I’ll give it a solid 3 1/2 stars.
While a lot of time was spent on mundane things and not enough on the progression of the plot (my main reason for leaning more towards 3 stars than 4), I actually did enjoy the characters and the plot overall. Basically the 3 members of the Prentice family, all separately and for different reasons, find themselves bound for the penal colony in Australia. The father is caught pickpocketing, the mother is falsely accused of theft, and the 13 year old daughter becomes a servant for the captain of the fleet. None of them are sure that their family members are on different ships until pretty far into the book. It’s really quite an interesting plot and I enjoyed it. The characters were good too, and clearly it was all very memorable because it stuck with me for 10+ years.
What I liked most was that it was clearly well-researched and really follows the true history of the First Fleet that traveled from England to Australia in 1787-88, which was one of history’s greatest sea voyages, carrying almost 1500 people by sea more than 15,000 miles for 252 days without losing a single ship. Reading this book has definitely made me want to read more about this time in history.
There are more books in this series and I’m pretty sure I read them as a kid when I read this one. I probably will at least give the second book a try since that one actually takes place more in Australia and less with what happened surrounding the arrests of the Prentice family and the sea voyage. Although parts of this book dragged and had trouble holding my attention, overall I enjoyed it and glad I tracked it down after all these years.
It probably had more of an impact on me as a kid, but I still enjoyed it and I’m glad I reread it. I’ll give it a solid 3 1/2 stars.
While a lot of time was spent on mundane things and not enough on the progression of the plot (my main reason for leaning more towards 3 stars than 4), I actually did enjoy the characters and the plot overall. Basically the 3 members of the Prentice family, all separately and for different reasons, find themselves bound for the penal colony in Australia. The father is caught pickpocketing, the mother is falsely accused of theft, and the 13 year old daughter becomes a servant for the captain of the fleet. None of them are sure that their family members are on different ships until pretty far into the book. It’s really quite an interesting plot and I enjoyed it. The characters were good too, and clearly it was all very memorable because it stuck with me for 10+ years.
What I liked most was that it was clearly well-researched and really follows the true history of the First Fleet that traveled from England to Australia in 1787-88, which was one of history’s greatest sea voyages, carrying almost 1500 people by sea more than 15,000 miles for 252 days without losing a single ship. Reading this book has definitely made me want to read more about this time in history.
There are more books in this series and I’m pretty sure I read them as a kid when I read this one. I probably will at least give the second book a try since that one actually takes place more in Australia and less with what happened surrounding the arrests of the Prentice family and the sea voyage. Although parts of this book dragged and had trouble holding my attention, overall I enjoyed it and glad I tracked it down after all these years.
February 1, 2010
My Synopsis:
Voyage Of The Exiles is the first book in Patricia Hickman's Land Of The Far Horizons series. In 1788 England sent a fleet of ships to begin a colony in New South Wales, Australia. But, this wasn't just any bunch of colonists. They were convicts accused of crimes in England and sentenced to hang. Instead they were transported to Australia to embark on a new life.
The first book in the series centers around the Prentice Family. George, the father, who has fallen on hard times and resorts to pickpocketing to provide for his family. George is arrested and sentenced to seven years of hard labor in the New South Wales, colony. Amelia, his wife, is trying to provide for their daughter Katie and a child on the way, is accused of stealing from a wealthy landowner and sentenced to New South Wales as well. Katie, their daughter somehow manages to find work with the commander of the Australian bound fleet. Their struggles are portrayed as they not only find each other but a deep and abiding faith that see's them through the difficult times as the fleet draws near the Australian colony.
My Thoughts:
This book was written in 1995 and I found the subject very interesting. I knew that Australia had been founded with the Botany Bay expedition but, I was really unfamiliar with the circumstances. I liked the book a lot, though I found the idea of all three members of the family somehow ending up in Australia perhaps a little too coincidental. The characters were very believable and made you become invested in what happened to them. Amelia, as a mother in desperate circumstances was very compelling. I liked how the subject of faith was not forced on the reader, but allowed to meld with the story and become a part of it.
Voyage Of The Exiles is the first book in Patricia Hickman's Land Of The Far Horizons series. In 1788 England sent a fleet of ships to begin a colony in New South Wales, Australia. But, this wasn't just any bunch of colonists. They were convicts accused of crimes in England and sentenced to hang. Instead they were transported to Australia to embark on a new life.
The first book in the series centers around the Prentice Family. George, the father, who has fallen on hard times and resorts to pickpocketing to provide for his family. George is arrested and sentenced to seven years of hard labor in the New South Wales, colony. Amelia, his wife, is trying to provide for their daughter Katie and a child on the way, is accused of stealing from a wealthy landowner and sentenced to New South Wales as well. Katie, their daughter somehow manages to find work with the commander of the Australian bound fleet. Their struggles are portrayed as they not only find each other but a deep and abiding faith that see's them through the difficult times as the fleet draws near the Australian colony.
My Thoughts:
This book was written in 1995 and I found the subject very interesting. I knew that Australia had been founded with the Botany Bay expedition but, I was really unfamiliar with the circumstances. I liked the book a lot, though I found the idea of all three members of the family somehow ending up in Australia perhaps a little too coincidental. The characters were very believable and made you become invested in what happened to them. Amelia, as a mother in desperate circumstances was very compelling. I liked how the subject of faith was not forced on the reader, but allowed to meld with the story and become a part of it.
September 4, 2012
I read this book on the greyhound from sask to edmonton. Very good characters, mostly elievable.. its always hard to get a believable conversion but the author does a credible job. Good christian novel
July 26, 2008
This was a set of books that I just stumbled upon but for which I became consumed in for a while.
August 7, 2022
I read the second book in this series years ago and enjoyed it very much, but never had the opportunity to read more of it until I happened to come across the other books in a bargain bookstore. It was nice to finally read the first book as it lays the foundation for the series. This series has a large cast of interesting, compelling characters. The historical details are excellent, and the faith element is very strong. I look forward to reading the rest of the series!
December 10, 2024
A lovely historical fiction book about convicts being sent to Australia. It was a "fluff" read for me to balance out my heavier subjects. Not a page turner (it took me 7 months to complete it) but a story that was consistently enjoyable to return to.
November 3, 2022
A great book! It gets a little slow before the characters set sail but it is very inspirational and touching!
July 11, 2021
I love books based on the story of the trip of the first fleet to settle in new south wales and this one didn't disappoint. As always most of the convicts have committed minor crimes due to starvation and homelessness and find themselves saved from the gallows by being transported to Australia. The story is very well written with interesting characters, especially the story of one family who are all separated back in England and then reunite later on the voyage.
August 31, 2017
I had always been curious about the founding of Australia as a British penal colony, so I was thrilled when I found this book!
I learned a lot about the history of this period the book dealt with some very disgusting subject matter in a very tasteful manner. What could have been a very gritty and disturbing narrative turned out to be a very informative, ultimately encouraging story. The book really opened my eyes to the horrors these prisoners and the impoverished people of England in general went through. I feel I have learned a lot about history and human nature from this story.
One thing that makes this book stand out from a lot of other Christian fiction is the way it deals with the conversion of it's characters. I've read a number of books that settle for a simple explanation of the gospel and the character praying a typical "sinner's prayer" - and that's about it. This book doesn't do that. The main conversion scene in this book is handled very well, with the character's emotion and words coming across as very genuine. The scene is missing the "magic prayer," as well as just about every other cliche that typical Christian fiction tends to embrace.
I was also particularly impressed with the dialogue. It came across as quite genuine and realistic, which is a lot harder to pull off than it looks.
There was a bit more romance than I would have preferred, and there were a few events that seemed just a bit too improbable to be realistic. Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
I learned a lot about the history of this period the book dealt with some very disgusting subject matter in a very tasteful manner. What could have been a very gritty and disturbing narrative turned out to be a very informative, ultimately encouraging story. The book really opened my eyes to the horrors these prisoners and the impoverished people of England in general went through. I feel I have learned a lot about history and human nature from this story.
One thing that makes this book stand out from a lot of other Christian fiction is the way it deals with the conversion of it's characters. I've read a number of books that settle for a simple explanation of the gospel and the character praying a typical "sinner's prayer" - and that's about it. This book doesn't do that. The main conversion scene in this book is handled very well, with the character's emotion and words coming across as very genuine. The scene is missing the "magic prayer," as well as just about every other cliche that typical Christian fiction tends to embrace.
I was also particularly impressed with the dialogue. It came across as quite genuine and realistic, which is a lot harder to pull off than it looks.
There was a bit more romance than I would have preferred, and there were a few events that seemed just a bit too improbable to be realistic. Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
December 24, 2015
Part of the reason I couldn't really get into this book is because I read it in chunks in between reading other books, but my overall impression of the story is your run of the mill Christian historical fiction. Basically, a personal story is told in a specific time in history and some people who are going through some hard times believe in God. It did have an interesting context, the convicts being transported from England to Australia. I enjoyed the transport part of the story the most, but it took a long time to get to that point. I do understand that this is the first book in a series, so maybe I'm not being completely fair in this review but this book didn't hook me enough for me to want to read the rest of the series.
May 9, 2009
Historical romance series when exiled people were sent from England to Australia in late 18th century
February 16, 2013
Very nice read. A book about the convicts that went to Australia on the first ships. It has a nice religious tone to it.
April 10, 2013
Boring. DNF.
September 11, 2016
save for Ava - MM read as a girl
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews