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Buckley's Chance
He fought Napoleon’s army and survived.
He was sent to the gallows and escaped the noose.
Now he is in chains and on his way to the other side of the world. What happens next will become one of the most remarkable survival stories in history.
The 19th century has just begun. The world is at war. England, ruled by a mad king, is exiling thousands of criminals to an old land that has become its newest dumping ground.
One of those prisoners is William Buckley, barely 21, a former soldier sentenced to life for stealing two small pieces of cloth. He’s a giant for his times. But it’s not just his towering frame that sets him apart. It’s his desire for freedom that will make his story so unique - even in an era famous for outrageous acts of bravery and heroism.
On a moonlit night Buckley escapes and disappears into the Australian bush. Discovered and adopted by an aboriginal tribe who regard him as a ghost, he is initiated into their rich and complex culture. Given up for dead by his white captors, he will not be seen again for more than 30 years until he emerges one day...carrying a spear, dressed in animal skins and having forgotten the English language.
Buckley’s Chance is a profound journey into a turning point in history where cultures clash, bitter rivals go to war and the body count mounts.
It’s also the story of a man who refuses to be held down.
A man prepared to defy all odds and take a chance.
Buckley’s chance.
He was sent to the gallows and escaped the noose.
Now he is in chains and on his way to the other side of the world. What happens next will become one of the most remarkable survival stories in history.
The 19th century has just begun. The world is at war. England, ruled by a mad king, is exiling thousands of criminals to an old land that has become its newest dumping ground.
One of those prisoners is William Buckley, barely 21, a former soldier sentenced to life for stealing two small pieces of cloth. He’s a giant for his times. But it’s not just his towering frame that sets him apart. It’s his desire for freedom that will make his story so unique - even in an era famous for outrageous acts of bravery and heroism.
On a moonlit night Buckley escapes and disappears into the Australian bush. Discovered and adopted by an aboriginal tribe who regard him as a ghost, he is initiated into their rich and complex culture. Given up for dead by his white captors, he will not be seen again for more than 30 years until he emerges one day...carrying a spear, dressed in animal skins and having forgotten the English language.
Buckley’s Chance is a profound journey into a turning point in history where cultures clash, bitter rivals go to war and the body count mounts.
It’s also the story of a man who refuses to be held down.
A man prepared to defy all odds and take a chance.
Buckley’s chance.
368 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2020
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229 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
January 14, 2020
*https://theburgeoningbookshelf.blogsp...
In Buckley’s Chance Linnell has written a thorough and true account of Australia’s settlement. The events are not glossed over or reinvented to be politically correct.
We follow William Buckley through his army days to being convicted of stealing and instead of a death sentence a lenient judge has him transported to Australia.
Enduring a long and harrowing journey to Australia by ship Buckley escapes first chance he gets. After weeks on the run he is found, near death, and taken in by an aboriginal family. He goes on to spend 30 years with the indigenous people.
Linnell’s impeccably researched novel is heavy on the politics of early Port Phillip and Hobart. It includes the feud between John Fawkner and John Batman and the slaughter of unknown numbers of aboriginals.
The novel is delivered in second person narration as if the narrator is telling Buckley’s story to Buckley himself. I’ve never been keen on second person narration and I felt that the story kept going off on tangents. It didn’t have a straight timeline and kept jumping back and forward in time which left me a bit lost at times.
Linnell has written an excellent novel on the early history of Australia but for me I would have preferred a bit more drama and more on the perils and hardships of everyday life on the run in this arid land.
4 stars for content – 3 stars for delivery.
*I received a copy from the publisher
In Buckley’s Chance Linnell has written a thorough and true account of Australia’s settlement. The events are not glossed over or reinvented to be politically correct.
We follow William Buckley through his army days to being convicted of stealing and instead of a death sentence a lenient judge has him transported to Australia.
Enduring a long and harrowing journey to Australia by ship Buckley escapes first chance he gets. After weeks on the run he is found, near death, and taken in by an aboriginal family. He goes on to spend 30 years with the indigenous people.
Linnell’s impeccably researched novel is heavy on the politics of early Port Phillip and Hobart. It includes the feud between John Fawkner and John Batman and the slaughter of unknown numbers of aboriginals.
The novel is delivered in second person narration as if the narrator is telling Buckley’s story to Buckley himself. I’ve never been keen on second person narration and I felt that the story kept going off on tangents. It didn’t have a straight timeline and kept jumping back and forward in time which left me a bit lost at times.
Linnell has written an excellent novel on the early history of Australia but for me I would have preferred a bit more drama and more on the perils and hardships of everyday life on the run in this arid land.
4 stars for content – 3 stars for delivery.
*I received a copy from the publisher
June 9, 2020
This book tells the story of William Buckley, the wild white man. But it does so in a way that links his story in with many of the other stories around the time of his life. These included the Napoleonic Wars, which he had fought in, life on the prison barges on the Thames, and even life as a convict in Australia – perhaps most importantly, of course, was his life amongst the Aboriginal peoples of Victoria before the white invasion that would destroy their way of life in the 1830s.
I’ve always been fascinated with the nature of time. The way it seems to move faster as you get older, for instance. And if that is true in our own lives, it seems even more so when we think back over history. Film from a hundred years ago shows a world both oddly familiar and yet also totally unlike our ‘real’ world. The world we see is alien. We may assume we can understand that world much more easily than ‘they’ could ever understand ‘ours’, but it is alien all the same. When I was a child watching those films, the people would walk about at what seemed like double speed, my mother told me once her mother had laughed at her when she asked why people in the old days used to walk so funny. They seem to have learnt how to slow down old films now. But that strange jerky movement always seemed a kind of double illusion, since we believe their world actually moved at half the speed of ours.
Melbourne, and the stories told in this book, are not yet even 200 years old. Recently I was told that if a generation was 50 years, that is, if people were born and then died on their 50th birthday, and also on that day their child was born and then that child would have a child born on their own 50th birthday, which would also be the day of their own death, and so on – there would only be 40 such generations back to the birth of Christ. And even though the mathematics is right, it still feels wrong, 40 generations seems far too recent for people to be running about in togas. The events described in this book by the same yardstick are hardly four generations back.
Shortly before this story began, Matthew Flinders circumnavigated Australia. More importantly for our story, he also circumnavigated Tasmania and proved that Tasmania was separated from the mainland by Bass Strait. This was important at the time because to get to Sydney, sailing boats would round the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and catch the Roaring Forties across the Indian Ocean and then nip round Tasmania and up to Sydney. But the discovery of Bass Strait took 1000 kilometers off journey.
The French had also been exploring in the area and there was concern that they might establish a settlement near Bass Strait and effectively take control of the Strait, which would then stop British ships from using this short cut. The decision was made to set up a convict settlement close to the Strait. However, when Collins arrived to do just that in 1803 he entered Port Phillip Bay and turned right landing at Sorento. It would have been hard for him to have found a worse place for the settlement. Particularly since there was no fresh water. Although they later found better places for settlements, not least the current sites of Melbourne or Geelong, they had decided that in those locations there were simply too many Aboriginals for it to be safe, and so Collins packed up and moved on to establish Hobart instead.
William Buckley was a convict with the Collins settlement but had escaped with three other convicts, one of whom was shot in the attempt and badly wounded. Buckley and the other two literally walked right around the bay. The other two then decided they wanted to go back and lit a fire to attract the attention of the Collins people – and did attract their attention, but the boat that spotted their fire turned back and left them to their own devices. The other two started back around the bay, but are believed to have been killed by the local Aboriginals. There is talk of disputes over women.
Buckley wandered about for a time, and eventually came upon a burial site for a local chief – he took the spear and shield left on the grave, and when he was later discovered by the locals they assumed he was the reincarnation of their chief. And thus his 32 years with the Wathaurong people began.
When white people came up from Tasmania with their sheep to settle the Port Phillip district it was basically illegal – that is, the government in New South Wales did not approve of new settlements in the area, but the settlers essentially forced the government's hand. News of John Batman’s party reached Buckley and he emerged out of the shrub wearing a possum skin coat and looking particularly terrifying. Buckley was about six-foot-six, so he wouldn’t have been easy to miss. At first he had completely forgotten how to speak English – instead he pointed to his initials, which he had tattooed on his arm, which seems ironic for a man who could not read or write. However, his ability to speak the local language proved very attractive to John Batman who employed him as an interpreter. But many of the white people swarming into the area were murderous bastards. This put Buckley at considerable risk – finding himself not trusted by either side. Eventually he asked if he could leave and was sent to Tasmania. He was granted a pardon.
Buckley held a deep affection for the Aboriginals he had lived with for so long and said that he would have been happy to end his days among them. But perhaps not to stand by and watch them be exterminated. Australian history can be both beautiful and tragic at the same time. I’ve only given the outlines of the story told in this book – and it really is a remarkable story. This book is well worth the read.
I’ve always been fascinated with the nature of time. The way it seems to move faster as you get older, for instance. And if that is true in our own lives, it seems even more so when we think back over history. Film from a hundred years ago shows a world both oddly familiar and yet also totally unlike our ‘real’ world. The world we see is alien. We may assume we can understand that world much more easily than ‘they’ could ever understand ‘ours’, but it is alien all the same. When I was a child watching those films, the people would walk about at what seemed like double speed, my mother told me once her mother had laughed at her when she asked why people in the old days used to walk so funny. They seem to have learnt how to slow down old films now. But that strange jerky movement always seemed a kind of double illusion, since we believe their world actually moved at half the speed of ours.
Melbourne, and the stories told in this book, are not yet even 200 years old. Recently I was told that if a generation was 50 years, that is, if people were born and then died on their 50th birthday, and also on that day their child was born and then that child would have a child born on their own 50th birthday, which would also be the day of their own death, and so on – there would only be 40 such generations back to the birth of Christ. And even though the mathematics is right, it still feels wrong, 40 generations seems far too recent for people to be running about in togas. The events described in this book by the same yardstick are hardly four generations back.
Shortly before this story began, Matthew Flinders circumnavigated Australia. More importantly for our story, he also circumnavigated Tasmania and proved that Tasmania was separated from the mainland by Bass Strait. This was important at the time because to get to Sydney, sailing boats would round the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and catch the Roaring Forties across the Indian Ocean and then nip round Tasmania and up to Sydney. But the discovery of Bass Strait took 1000 kilometers off journey.
The French had also been exploring in the area and there was concern that they might establish a settlement near Bass Strait and effectively take control of the Strait, which would then stop British ships from using this short cut. The decision was made to set up a convict settlement close to the Strait. However, when Collins arrived to do just that in 1803 he entered Port Phillip Bay and turned right landing at Sorento. It would have been hard for him to have found a worse place for the settlement. Particularly since there was no fresh water. Although they later found better places for settlements, not least the current sites of Melbourne or Geelong, they had decided that in those locations there were simply too many Aboriginals for it to be safe, and so Collins packed up and moved on to establish Hobart instead.
William Buckley was a convict with the Collins settlement but had escaped with three other convicts, one of whom was shot in the attempt and badly wounded. Buckley and the other two literally walked right around the bay. The other two then decided they wanted to go back and lit a fire to attract the attention of the Collins people – and did attract their attention, but the boat that spotted their fire turned back and left them to their own devices. The other two started back around the bay, but are believed to have been killed by the local Aboriginals. There is talk of disputes over women.
Buckley wandered about for a time, and eventually came upon a burial site for a local chief – he took the spear and shield left on the grave, and when he was later discovered by the locals they assumed he was the reincarnation of their chief. And thus his 32 years with the Wathaurong people began.
When white people came up from Tasmania with their sheep to settle the Port Phillip district it was basically illegal – that is, the government in New South Wales did not approve of new settlements in the area, but the settlers essentially forced the government's hand. News of John Batman’s party reached Buckley and he emerged out of the shrub wearing a possum skin coat and looking particularly terrifying. Buckley was about six-foot-six, so he wouldn’t have been easy to miss. At first he had completely forgotten how to speak English – instead he pointed to his initials, which he had tattooed on his arm, which seems ironic for a man who could not read or write. However, his ability to speak the local language proved very attractive to John Batman who employed him as an interpreter. But many of the white people swarming into the area were murderous bastards. This put Buckley at considerable risk – finding himself not trusted by either side. Eventually he asked if he could leave and was sent to Tasmania. He was granted a pardon.
Buckley held a deep affection for the Aboriginals he had lived with for so long and said that he would have been happy to end his days among them. But perhaps not to stand by and watch them be exterminated. Australian history can be both beautiful and tragic at the same time. I’ve only given the outlines of the story told in this book – and it really is a remarkable story. This book is well worth the read.
October 22, 2019
Buckley's Chance by Garry Linnell
All Aussies have heard of the aphorism you’ve got two chances, Buckley’s and none, which means no chance or it’s as good as impossible. William Buckley appears to be the source of this phrase due to his incredible survival in the bush.
This is an intensive historical account of the life of William Buckley. It’s written in an unique format in the way that the author is discussing Buckley’s life with Buckley himself, it’s not your conventional historical biography. It also includes a glossy spread of over a dozen photos in the book.
This is not just the story of William Buckley, there are many other characters documented who have crossed paths with Buckley in this fascinating and true story.
Buckley led one of the most remarkable lives imaginable, he spent thirty-two years in the bush before he reappeared dressed in animal skins and carrying a spear! He had been living with an aboriginal tribe who regarded him as ‘the white ghost’ and he’d forgotten the English language in this time.
William Buckley was originally from England where he was a bricklayer, strong and a tall height of six foot six inches. He served in the Napoleonic wars where he was wounded. Buckley was a great survivor and was later given a death sentence for stealing two pieces of cloth but instead was sentenced to transportation for life. In shackles for six months at sea while being sent to an Australian convict settlement he later escaped in 1803 into the bush and was presumed dead. Australia had become the dumping ground for England’s criminals.
Over thirty years later he was pardoned but found himself caught between two cultures.
An intense and extensively researched read by author Garry Linnell who is also a journalist and radio show host.
Thank you to Better Reading & Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of the book in return for an honest review.
All Aussies have heard of the aphorism you’ve got two chances, Buckley’s and none, which means no chance or it’s as good as impossible. William Buckley appears to be the source of this phrase due to his incredible survival in the bush.
This is an intensive historical account of the life of William Buckley. It’s written in an unique format in the way that the author is discussing Buckley’s life with Buckley himself, it’s not your conventional historical biography. It also includes a glossy spread of over a dozen photos in the book.
This is not just the story of William Buckley, there are many other characters documented who have crossed paths with Buckley in this fascinating and true story.
Buckley led one of the most remarkable lives imaginable, he spent thirty-two years in the bush before he reappeared dressed in animal skins and carrying a spear! He had been living with an aboriginal tribe who regarded him as ‘the white ghost’ and he’d forgotten the English language in this time.
William Buckley was originally from England where he was a bricklayer, strong and a tall height of six foot six inches. He served in the Napoleonic wars where he was wounded. Buckley was a great survivor and was later given a death sentence for stealing two pieces of cloth but instead was sentenced to transportation for life. In shackles for six months at sea while being sent to an Australian convict settlement he later escaped in 1803 into the bush and was presumed dead. Australia had become the dumping ground for England’s criminals.
Over thirty years later he was pardoned but found himself caught between two cultures.
An intense and extensively researched read by author Garry Linnell who is also a journalist and radio show host.
Thank you to Better Reading & Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of the book in return for an honest review.
October 15, 2019
Who has never heard the aphorism: ‘You’ve got two chances - Buckley’s and none”? Award-winning Australian journalist and author, Garry Linnell’s third book follows the incredible life journey of the extraordinary William Buckley, fairly certainly the Buckley to which this refers. He writes in the second person, addressing his story to Buckley himself. It’s quickly clear, from the thorough end-notes, bibliography and references provided, that Linnell’s research is extensive and meticulous. The level of detail is mostly absorbing, if occasionally tedious. He enhances his interesting text with a map, sixteen pages of colour plates and a comprehensive index. From evocative descriptions of his Napoleonic War experience, the Britain that Buckley leaves, through his journey as a convict on the Calcutta, his 32 years with the Wadawurrung people, and his re-entry into white “civilisation”, emerges an opportunist skilled in both the art of disappearing and of fitting in. While more of Buckley on country and less 19thC politics would have been good, this is still a fascinating piece of historical fiction.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Better Reading Preview and Michael Joseph Australia
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Better Reading Preview and Michael Joseph Australia
July 16, 2020
This is a most unusual treatment of the history of the earliest colonial days in Australia. Unfortunately, telling the story alongside that of William Buckley in a highly informal, quirky and often times amusing manner did not lessen the impact of learning more about the harsh, brutal conditions endured by those unfortunate enough to be at the mercy of the colonists in the penal colonies of Port Phillip and Van Diemen’s Land in the first half of the 19th century. Towering over the convicts, free men and women and the Aboriginal people in these woebegone communities were avaricious, cruel men determined to dominate not only the people but the land itself; many of the previously lauded characters of early Australian colonial history such as John Batman are revealed by Linnell to have feet of clay and undeserving of previous accolades.
Linnell’s portrait of William Buckley as one of the ‘good guys’ in Buckley’s Chance is based very much on Buckley’s recounting of his experiences as a member of the Waddawurrung Aboriginal clan for three decades in the book The Life and Adventures of William Buckley . Linnell’s skill in placing this information in the context of both Australian and historical world events is impressive and the colloquial language he often employs ensures that the reading is accessible and entertaining.
The front cover of Buckley’s Chance heralds “A new era of Australian storytelling” and I think that is a pretty fair assessment of the book.
Linnell’s portrait of William Buckley as one of the ‘good guys’ in Buckley’s Chance is based very much on Buckley’s recounting of his experiences as a member of the Waddawurrung Aboriginal clan for three decades in the book The Life and Adventures of William Buckley . Linnell’s skill in placing this information in the context of both Australian and historical world events is impressive and the colloquial language he often employs ensures that the reading is accessible and entertaining.
The front cover of Buckley’s Chance heralds “A new era of Australian storytelling” and I think that is a pretty fair assessment of the book.
February 19, 2022
Not something I would ever have considered reading, except for book club. I found it initially intriguing and engaging (I’ve never read a book written in 2nd person), but it quickly became a slog, despite the valuable snippets of Australian history from early-mid 1800s. I think it lost its way for me because it stopped focusing on Buckley, and became instead a vehicle to carry Linnell’s research, with a plethora of early colonial white men, some with little or no connection to Buckley that I could note. Not that it paints a pretty picture of our ‘esteemed’ founding white men, which in itself is valuable, but I had hoped for far more insight into Buckley’s 30 years with the Wadawaurrung people.
January 28, 2020
This novel is a very different look at early Australian settlement and the culture clashes. An entirely different history to what we were taught at school.
Well worth the read.
Well worth the read.
September 24, 2020
Wow, what a life! I loved the way this was written, really drawing me in with the conversational way the author talks to William.
November 3, 2024
As I live in the Geelong area I have visited Buckley’s Falls, Cave and Well and this book fills me in on my many gaps in the fascinating life of William Buckley
😊😊
😊😊
October 19, 2019
Growing up in Victoria I occasionally heard mention of a convict, William Buckley, who lived in the bush with Aborigines for more than 30 years before approaching a party of white men, part of the European settlement of Port Phillip in 1835. In this book Garry Linnel brings the story of William Buckley to life.
At 6 foot 6 inches, Buckley was a man who stood out in a crowd. In the army he stood head and shoulders above his fellow soldiers. The Aborigines who discovered him in the bush were astonished by this huge white ghost and thought that he was one of their tribe who had returned from the dead. Among the settlers in the new colony at Port Phillip and later in Hobart the large frame of William Buckley was always noticed, although he probably preferred to be left in peace.
William Buckley's life could never be described as dull. Buckley was born in Cheshire, England, in 1776. His first job was that of a bricklayer before enlisting in the army encountering the carnage of the Napoleonic Wars in August 1799. Three years later Buckley was charged with stealing fabric, a crime he may or may not have committed, and sentenced to death, commuted to transportation for life. He arrived at Sullivan Bay in Port Phillip aboard the Calcutta in October 1803 where David Collins planned to establish a convict settlement. It was soon obvious that this was not the best location for a new settlement but before the convicts could be taken to Van Diemen's Land a number of convicts, including William Buckley, had escaped into the bush. The other escapees eventually returned to the camp but Buckley was to spend the next 32 years living with the local Aborigines.
When Buckley left the bush to live again in a white community it took time before he could understand and speak English but eventually he acted as an interpreter between the Europeans and the Aborigines. After several years in the fledgling settlement that was to become Melbourne, Buckley relocated to Hobart where he eventually married and attempted to lead a normal life. Newspaper articles about William Buckley and his life with the Aborigines attracted huge interest and in 1852 the newspaper editor, John Morgan, wrote a book about Buckley's life - The life and adventures of William Buckley, thirty-two years a wanderer amongst the Aborigines of the then unexplored country round Port Phillip, now the Province of Victoria. James Bonwick also wrote a book about Buckley's life - William Buckley, the wild white man and his Port Phillip Friends - in 1856. William Buckley died in Hobart in January 1856.
Garry Linnel has written this book in a conversational style as if he is discussing Buckley's life with Buckley himself.
But this is not just a book about the life of William Buckley; it is also an account of life in the Port Phillip District in the initial days of European settlement plus a description of life in Hobart Town from 1838 to 1856. Many of the characters involved in those settlements are described in detail, particularly the rivalries between John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner. The initial contact between Aborigines and white settlers is also a theme of this book.
The book is therefore a useful, readable, contribution to the history of Victoria and Tasmania.
Earlier this year I read a copy of Strandloper by Alan Garner, a fictional account of William Buckley's life comparing the influence of legends and folklore of Cheshire, which would have been part of Buckley's early life, with his experiences of living with Aboriginal culture for 32 years.
Many thanks to Better Reading for providing a preview copy of this book. #BRPreview
At 6 foot 6 inches, Buckley was a man who stood out in a crowd. In the army he stood head and shoulders above his fellow soldiers. The Aborigines who discovered him in the bush were astonished by this huge white ghost and thought that he was one of their tribe who had returned from the dead. Among the settlers in the new colony at Port Phillip and later in Hobart the large frame of William Buckley was always noticed, although he probably preferred to be left in peace.
William Buckley's life could never be described as dull. Buckley was born in Cheshire, England, in 1776. His first job was that of a bricklayer before enlisting in the army encountering the carnage of the Napoleonic Wars in August 1799. Three years later Buckley was charged with stealing fabric, a crime he may or may not have committed, and sentenced to death, commuted to transportation for life. He arrived at Sullivan Bay in Port Phillip aboard the Calcutta in October 1803 where David Collins planned to establish a convict settlement. It was soon obvious that this was not the best location for a new settlement but before the convicts could be taken to Van Diemen's Land a number of convicts, including William Buckley, had escaped into the bush. The other escapees eventually returned to the camp but Buckley was to spend the next 32 years living with the local Aborigines.
When Buckley left the bush to live again in a white community it took time before he could understand and speak English but eventually he acted as an interpreter between the Europeans and the Aborigines. After several years in the fledgling settlement that was to become Melbourne, Buckley relocated to Hobart where he eventually married and attempted to lead a normal life. Newspaper articles about William Buckley and his life with the Aborigines attracted huge interest and in 1852 the newspaper editor, John Morgan, wrote a book about Buckley's life - The life and adventures of William Buckley, thirty-two years a wanderer amongst the Aborigines of the then unexplored country round Port Phillip, now the Province of Victoria. James Bonwick also wrote a book about Buckley's life - William Buckley, the wild white man and his Port Phillip Friends - in 1856. William Buckley died in Hobart in January 1856.
Garry Linnel has written this book in a conversational style as if he is discussing Buckley's life with Buckley himself.
But this is not just a book about the life of William Buckley; it is also an account of life in the Port Phillip District in the initial days of European settlement plus a description of life in Hobart Town from 1838 to 1856. Many of the characters involved in those settlements are described in detail, particularly the rivalries between John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner. The initial contact between Aborigines and white settlers is also a theme of this book.
The book is therefore a useful, readable, contribution to the history of Victoria and Tasmania.
Earlier this year I read a copy of Strandloper by Alan Garner, a fictional account of William Buckley's life comparing the influence of legends and folklore of Cheshire, which would have been part of Buckley's early life, with his experiences of living with Aboriginal culture for 32 years.
Many thanks to Better Reading for providing a preview copy of this book. #BRPreview
September 27, 2021
I was so looking forward to this novel. But there was Buckley’s chance I was ever going to enjoy this book. My initial disappointment was that for want of a comma the story was lost. But I became accustomed to re-reading the many confusing sentences in order to clarify meaning.
But the real work was ahead of me.
Linnell writes in a most unconventional way. I expected the book to focus on William Buckley, but no. Many of the early chapters of this book focused on extraneous characters and events that almost had me throwing in the towel. Did we really need to hear about Napoleon’s haemorrhoids? Or later in the narrative about Homo sapiens in eastern Africa?
And if the author’s haphazard switching from past to present tense were not enough, the narrative switching from third person to 2nd person was another challenge altogether. Is the author talking to me the reader, or Buckley, or one of the other characters?
The author refers to characters in great detail despite many of them seemingly having little if any connection to the story. This superfluous padding often had me wondering if Buckley had gone AWOL.
A lot of research has clearly gone into this book. There is much to like about it. And the author’s turn of phrase is endearing and witty for the most part.
But it’s somehow more like a library reference book than a novel. I managed to finish it, and hard slog it was.
But the real work was ahead of me.
Linnell writes in a most unconventional way. I expected the book to focus on William Buckley, but no. Many of the early chapters of this book focused on extraneous characters and events that almost had me throwing in the towel. Did we really need to hear about Napoleon’s haemorrhoids? Or later in the narrative about Homo sapiens in eastern Africa?
And if the author’s haphazard switching from past to present tense were not enough, the narrative switching from third person to 2nd person was another challenge altogether. Is the author talking to me the reader, or Buckley, or one of the other characters?
The author refers to characters in great detail despite many of them seemingly having little if any connection to the story. This superfluous padding often had me wondering if Buckley had gone AWOL.
A lot of research has clearly gone into this book. There is much to like about it. And the author’s turn of phrase is endearing and witty for the most part.
But it’s somehow more like a library reference book than a novel. I managed to finish it, and hard slog it was.
December 19, 2021
Trigger warnings: incarceration, convict transportation, genocide of First Nations people, violence, death, colonialism, gun violence, racism.
3.5 stars.
Buckley's story is legendary in Australian history, and I spent two years of my life working on an exhibition about the colonisation of the Port Phillip District at a national level collecting institution, so this is a book I was more than a little intrigued to pick up - I knew the details of Buckley's story as far as his escape from Sullivan Bay and his appearance thirty-odd years later at Indented Head. But I knew little of his story outside of that.
Linnell writes as though he's having a conversation with Buckley, which made for a slightly bizarre writing style. I honestly think I would have liked the story better if it had been a straight up narrative rather than a second person conversation because Buckley's story is interesting enough in its own right. But on the whole, this was an interesting read and I'm glad I picked it up.
3.5 stars.
Buckley's story is legendary in Australian history, and I spent two years of my life working on an exhibition about the colonisation of the Port Phillip District at a national level collecting institution, so this is a book I was more than a little intrigued to pick up - I knew the details of Buckley's story as far as his escape from Sullivan Bay and his appearance thirty-odd years later at Indented Head. But I knew little of his story outside of that.
Linnell writes as though he's having a conversation with Buckley, which made for a slightly bizarre writing style. I honestly think I would have liked the story better if it had been a straight up narrative rather than a second person conversation because Buckley's story is interesting enough in its own right. But on the whole, this was an interesting read and I'm glad I picked it up.
March 22, 2024
Ugh!! 😖
With such great material- it is a crime this author ruined this tale
Tell the story - you have excellent material
But no -
I nearly threw this in it was such irritating writing ✍️ but Buckley is a very interesting person & while there was a dirty of some parts of his life, there was a lot of well documented aspects of it
I have given it 2 stars ⭐️ because the author/journalist had the good taste to tell this tale - it’s a shame he did not have the talent !
With such great material- it is a crime this author ruined this tale
Tell the story - you have excellent material
But no -
I nearly threw this in it was such irritating writing ✍️ but Buckley is a very interesting person & while there was a dirty of some parts of his life, there was a lot of well documented aspects of it
I have given it 2 stars ⭐️ because the author/journalist had the good taste to tell this tale - it’s a shame he did not have the talent !
October 19, 2019
3 1/2 stars. Thank you Better Reading for my ARC of this very detailed and informative historical account of the extraordinary lift of William Buckley. A man who fought against Napolean's Army, was imprisioned in England for theft and transported to Australia, escaped upon arrival and was adopted by the Wadawurrung people for more than 30 years. His re-entry into white society during a sad period of Australian history that is not often explored. Fascinating historical fiction if you enjoy meticulous research and thorough story telling.
August 18, 2021
Fairly well researched history overall. He used a literary device consistently throughout the book (but not in every chapter) where he reminisced as though speaking to Buckley (Buckleys ghost) or speaking as in a theatrical soliloquy mulling over questions or making comments on the past. At times it was a bit mawkish, at times a little sardonic and I did not enjoy the tones or type of historical commentary offered in this way.
January 1, 2024
Not my sort of book to read but if you love history then it would be a great read. Has lots of information about the character and places also has strong backing characters. Very heavy reading but over all a good read if you like this type of story.
May 28, 2024
The content of this book is very interesting. It's a well-researched, broad-reaching overview of some of the early interactions between Indigenous Australians and European settlers/invaders. Good and bad are portrayed on both sides. The start of what we know know as the city of Melbourne was really good to read. The treatment of our Aboriginal people by foreigners who just wanted their land was sickening, but a truth that needs to be told and acknowledged. The final chapter, closing the life of William Buckley, was rather emotive.
For the content, I'd say this book is worth reading.
However, I gave it a very low score and was eager to finish the book to get it over with. There are two reasons.
First, the book is touted as William Buckley's story. Although it does broadly follow his life, the majority of the text is not actually about him. Some of the extra material does serve as useful context to understand Buckley's life, but most of it feels like padding to make the book chunky enough to be worth printing. If you pick this volume to learn about the era and several major characters, the padding works and is relevant. Otherwise, it's mostly just padding. I learned about a tree which grew somewhere near where Buckley was born, but not why it's relevant to his life in Australia.
Second, the tone of the book is really, really frustrating. A lot of it is some sort of casual monologue from the author to a long-deceased character. It felt phoney, and the casual style apparently excused a lot of very sloppy grammar and carelessly crafted sentences. The tense flitted a lot between past and present tense, and the early sections of the book danced back and forth across chronology as well. It was confusing, distracting and exceedingly annoying.
Content: 4 stars
Accuracy of book description: 2 stars
Delivery: 1 star
For the content, I'd say this book is worth reading.
However, I gave it a very low score and was eager to finish the book to get it over with. There are two reasons.
First, the book is touted as William Buckley's story. Although it does broadly follow his life, the majority of the text is not actually about him. Some of the extra material does serve as useful context to understand Buckley's life, but most of it feels like padding to make the book chunky enough to be worth printing. If you pick this volume to learn about the era and several major characters, the padding works and is relevant. Otherwise, it's mostly just padding. I learned about a tree which grew somewhere near where Buckley was born, but not why it's relevant to his life in Australia.
Second, the tone of the book is really, really frustrating. A lot of it is some sort of casual monologue from the author to a long-deceased character. It felt phoney, and the casual style apparently excused a lot of very sloppy grammar and carelessly crafted sentences. The tense flitted a lot between past and present tense, and the early sections of the book danced back and forth across chronology as well. It was confusing, distracting and exceedingly annoying.
Content: 4 stars
Accuracy of book description: 2 stars
Delivery: 1 star
February 2, 2021
I was aware of the the saying "Buckley's Chance" but confess I was never aware of the story of the man behind it. This story is much more than that though - William Buckley's life if certainly unique and plays out against the early colonial history of Melbourne and Hobart. The book is very well researched and similar to Linnel's other historical novel, Moonlite, is as much about the man as it is about the times he lived in and the personalities central to those times.
Most interesting are Buckley's early life as convict (the descriptions of life on the prison barges in England and the trip to Australia are particularly well done) and the 30 years he spends in the bush with the local aboriginal people. This section, Buckley's time with the aboriginals, is also the shortest and it feels like a missed opportunity to explore this unique perspective further. Perhaps there is just less documented about this period as only Buckley could tell the tale, but I was still looking for more here.
The last section loses pace though, when Buckley returns to "civilisation". Here the story meanders a bit and is much more about other characters of the time than Buckley himself.
Still, a mostly fascinating tale and recommended for anyone interested in convict tales and early Australian colonial history.
Most interesting are Buckley's early life as convict (the descriptions of life on the prison barges in England and the trip to Australia are particularly well done) and the 30 years he spends in the bush with the local aboriginal people. This section, Buckley's time with the aboriginals, is also the shortest and it feels like a missed opportunity to explore this unique perspective further. Perhaps there is just less documented about this period as only Buckley could tell the tale, but I was still looking for more here.
The last section loses pace though, when Buckley returns to "civilisation". Here the story meanders a bit and is much more about other characters of the time than Buckley himself.
Still, a mostly fascinating tale and recommended for anyone interested in convict tales and early Australian colonial history.
December 3, 2020
Australian’s use the term “You’ve got two chances - Buckley’s and none” to indicate little chance of success. Buckley is a real person, William Buckley, and this term developed from his surprising story of survival in 1800s in the Victorian bush. He was the man Buckley’s Falls in Geelong and Buckley’s Cave in Port Lonsdale was named after as these were the areas he lived in for 30 years, moving away from these areas to live and walk with the local First Nations tribes often. So who was William Buckley? In Buckley’s Chance Linnell explores the story of an amazing survivor. William Buckley was a soldier who survived the Napoleonic war and fell in with some ne’er-do-wells who were very unsuccessful criminals and was convicted of stealing two small pieces of cloth and transported to a penal colony in Australia. In 1803 he escaped, a 6 foot 7 inch (2metres) white man, lost in the bush. Amazing that the pursuing soldiers did not find him. He was lost and presumed dead for over 30 years until in 1835 he wandered into a white man’s camp knowing only limited English and astounding those in the camp. Linnell says one of the reasons Buckley survived was that the Aboriginal tribes in the area saw him as a reincarnation of their ancestors so he was not expected to participate in any inter-tribal conflicts. Once found, Buckley could not be lost again. Working in the then tiny village of Melbourne he worked as an interpreter for the landowner, John Batman and then as a police aide. He was increasingly concerned with the brutal treatment of the aboriginal people and withdrew from this type of work. He was accused of supporting the Aboriginal tribes in their fight to keep their land by the white settlers and also accused of helping the white man strip the land from the local Aboriginal tribes. Fearing for his life he left Victoria in 1837 to live in Tasmania. Linnell extends Buckley’s story to give us more truth telling about the history of Melbourne and how it was founded on the blood of the indigenous people who lived there. He also continues to strip the veil of nobility given to Melbourne’s founders like John Batman to give us a raw picture of a man ravaged by syphilis, with a reputation for rape, murder and fraud committed on the local aboriginal tribes. Other notable figures of early Melbourne and Tasmanian settlement are also explored, as they travelled on the same convict ship as William Buckley, some as crew, some as children and some as other convicts. I was particularly fascinated by the way Linnell, through the telling of the history of one white man, also included the history of Australia’s First Peoples, in particular the Wadawurrung. Linnell also includes in the back of the book the summary of many other characters who appeared throughout William’s life and what happened to them later, a list of Wadawurrung clan names and locations and more information about the First Peoples of Victoria.
June 21, 2020
This book was filled with many interesting facts about the settling of Victoria and early life in Hobart, as William Buckley was an important figure in those times. Having escaped incarceration, he lived for years with the Aborigines, learning their language and culture. Acting as translater, he helped early settlers such as Batman and Fawkner, now discredited, largely because of their unfair treatment of the Aborigines.
The author uses the second person, addressing Buckley as 'you'. This approach was original, but didn't really work. I was reminded of the choose your own adventure books popular with some teenagers.
Charles Darwin visited Hobart in 1836, making the comment: "Farewell Australia! You are a rising child, and doubtless some day will reign a great princess in the South; but you are too great and ambitious for affection, yet not great enough for respect. I leave your shores without sorrow or regret." Like Buckley, he was distressed by the impact of white culture on the native inhabitants and what the author describes as "the survival of the fattest; he who accumulates the most land and places the greatest number of sheep on it will emerge triumphant."
The author uses the second person, addressing Buckley as 'you'. This approach was original, but didn't really work. I was reminded of the choose your own adventure books popular with some teenagers.
Charles Darwin visited Hobart in 1836, making the comment: "Farewell Australia! You are a rising child, and doubtless some day will reign a great princess in the South; but you are too great and ambitious for affection, yet not great enough for respect. I leave your shores without sorrow or regret." Like Buckley, he was distressed by the impact of white culture on the native inhabitants and what the author describes as "the survival of the fattest; he who accumulates the most land and places the greatest number of sheep on it will emerge triumphant."
March 6, 2020
There are few heroes in this book. Very few. And seldom are they given the dignity of a name. Such is the tragedy of a story where the real and consequential detail has been lost to time.
The rogues' gallery of other characters could well be lifted from a Dickens novel or similar. Indeed, some are. This book does provide more detail than most on Buckley's times more generally, the period before his escape, and after rejoining the colonisers.
The author's background working in current affairs for Channel 9 (something I only learnt as I was reading this) more than explains the sensationalist tone, and some of the writing devices used were a bit clumsy. Sadly the end notes are not referenced throughout the text, which renders them a bit useless really.
There is so much we will never know about William Buckley's first thirty two years on Kulin Country. Having read a number of books on the topic - including The Life and Adventures of - it is only right to interrogate the motives behind all those telling this tall tale.
The rogues' gallery of other characters could well be lifted from a Dickens novel or similar. Indeed, some are. This book does provide more detail than most on Buckley's times more generally, the period before his escape, and after rejoining the colonisers.
The author's background working in current affairs for Channel 9 (something I only learnt as I was reading this) more than explains the sensationalist tone, and some of the writing devices used were a bit clumsy. Sadly the end notes are not referenced throughout the text, which renders them a bit useless really.
There is so much we will never know about William Buckley's first thirty two years on Kulin Country. Having read a number of books on the topic - including The Life and Adventures of - it is only right to interrogate the motives behind all those telling this tall tale.
April 19, 2020
This book opened up some of Melbourne's early history. It is a different history to what we are led to believe , and some of our earliest founders are now in my eyes cast in a different light. We are taught so little about our Indigenous history and this book does help to bring out some of this early history that has been buried. I did not even know how many aboriginies existed in Victoria pre white settlement.
Whilst the book is based on the life of William Buckley, given his literacy , there is no recordings of his life events that was recorded in his own words . Most of the detail in the book about Buckley is based on the accounts of others that have recorded their meeting with this man that had spent 32 years living in the wilds. It is also of interest to note where some of the names of our towns have been derived, from aboriginal words of similar sound.
Whilst the book is based on the life of William Buckley, given his literacy , there is no recordings of his life events that was recorded in his own words . Most of the detail in the book about Buckley is based on the accounts of others that have recorded their meeting with this man that had spent 32 years living in the wilds. It is also of interest to note where some of the names of our towns have been derived, from aboriginal words of similar sound.
January 18, 2020
Clancy was fancy but I found it hard going. I appreciate the reference to 'real Australian' and what the white fella did, even the photos but I got to page 7 as clearly it was heavy going for me. I like a great, good out there well that was a good read novel.
To me it is probably a 'good read' for historians. True Blues and all that - you choose your novels too from the blurb, the storytelling how good the author is at spinning a web of intrigue but loses the 'umph' with it a few times so as a reader I wasn't perturbed in not finishing this book but you might be enthralled with this type of 'history of a white man living with the aboriginals'.
Everyone is different thank goodness as I try to read as many novels of all genres as I'm a great reader of all age groups and genres.
To me it is probably a 'good read' for historians. True Blues and all that - you choose your novels too from the blurb, the storytelling how good the author is at spinning a web of intrigue but loses the 'umph' with it a few times so as a reader I wasn't perturbed in not finishing this book but you might be enthralled with this type of 'history of a white man living with the aboriginals'.
Everyone is different thank goodness as I try to read as many novels of all genres as I'm a great reader of all age groups and genres.
March 2, 2020
Well Researched.
Having spent time at Point Lonsdale, I was attracted to learning more about William Buckley. Apart from the fact that I have used the expression "Buckley's" many times. His story piqued my curiosity considerably.
Linnell doesn't tell the story in a dry way, like a lot of historical biographies, with lots of dates and yawns. He keeps it interesting. As a Victorian, I am very familiar with the names and places. Learning about the familiar, can be quite interesting. We tend to take so much for granted. Expanding on the famous and the infamous was enlightening. It was refreshing to read the brutal truth with the glamour stripped away. This book has given me an insight into the life and times of William Buckley
Having spent time at Point Lonsdale, I was attracted to learning more about William Buckley. Apart from the fact that I have used the expression "Buckley's" many times. His story piqued my curiosity considerably.
Linnell doesn't tell the story in a dry way, like a lot of historical biographies, with lots of dates and yawns. He keeps it interesting. As a Victorian, I am very familiar with the names and places. Learning about the familiar, can be quite interesting. We tend to take so much for granted. Expanding on the famous and the infamous was enlightening. It was refreshing to read the brutal truth with the glamour stripped away. This book has given me an insight into the life and times of William Buckley
Read
January 12, 2021Oh my goodness - the use of the second person drove me nuts! Every time Garry said 'you,' which was all the time because he chose the second person form of address, I wanted to SCREAM 'STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO THINK, WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO FEEL!'
It's always an enormous risk for a writer to use the 2nd person. And I felt that by taking this risk, Garry let Buckley down. It was a ripping yarn, with good research but that 'you' use! It made me put the book down many times with frustration.
Others will not be as sensitive to the 2nd person. If you are not - have a read. I did learn much about Aussie and Aboriginal culture that I didn't know (not hard, as I've lived in Italy for 23 years). Especially what Coo-Wee actually means.
It's always an enormous risk for a writer to use the 2nd person. And I felt that by taking this risk, Garry let Buckley down. It was a ripping yarn, with good research but that 'you' use! It made me put the book down many times with frustration.
Others will not be as sensitive to the 2nd person. If you are not - have a read. I did learn much about Aussie and Aboriginal culture that I didn't know (not hard, as I've lived in Italy for 23 years). Especially what Coo-Wee actually means.
February 5, 2020
An incredible story of the life of William Buckley told to him by the author. The text contains sentences from other sources and these are well referenced in the Endnotes; a story by themselves. Buckley survived a life in England, was transported to Australia, lived with Aboriginal tribes and ended up walking proudly down a Hobart street with a young wife. He is one of our heroes who confronted the likes of men whose names appear as Melbourne and Tasmanian places because he was the negotiator who made them look good. If you had to study our early history then this would be an enjoyable way of doing it. An entertaining read which also includes the monstrous events that shamefully occurred.
June 29, 2020
A different take on an integral part of the white-man history of victoria. It was easily read and gave respect to the indigenous culture of the time, using Buckley as a bit of a bridge to demonstrate the complexity of the situation and tensions between settlers and original occupants and how the dispossession came about and also the manipulation of Buckley for the colonisation ends of the white settlers. Definitely worth reading for new information and insight into this larger than life historical figure and the times and circumstances of his life.
December 28, 2020
This is a great read about the early settlement days of Victoria for it's honesty about the settlers and the how the Aboriginals were dispossessed of their land.
Based on the title though, I was expecting more of the story to be about Buckley. His story is more of a link between the information about all the other characters and very little is known about Buckley himself. Having expected a more detailed story that characterised where the saying 'Buckley's chance' came from, the story I got (despite it being interesting in itself) left me feeling flat.
Based on the title though, I was expecting more of the story to be about Buckley. His story is more of a link between the information about all the other characters and very little is known about Buckley himself. Having expected a more detailed story that characterised where the saying 'Buckley's chance' came from, the story I got (despite it being interesting in itself) left me feeling flat.
January 12, 2020
Great read, a lot in the 2nd person (you) which was an interesting device. Considering there was and is scant record of Buckley's 30 years spent with the indigenous people. Linnell also paints a picture of the times - where Buckley came from, the times in which he lived, here and in England, and the 'personalities' of Batman & Fawkner. So insightful. I would certainly recommend this (and have!)
March 26, 2022
It started out will, the second person view was quite novel but it didn't spend a lot of time on Buckely's time with the Waddawaurung nation. The book did spend most of its time filling out personalities of the person in power around Buckley at the time and gives a great insight to life in early Tasmania. the second person poont of view wears a bit and the book seems to be a person giving his opinion to Buckley, as in a conversation and takes away the authority of the historical work.
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