Broken Bonds

by Henry Hawley Smart

Broken Bonds by Henry Hawley Smart follows Maurice Ellerton, condemned to penal servitude for life, as he toils in the Portland quarries and navigates a tight-knit world of convicts, warders, and plots. Amid brutal discipline and brutal crimes, Maurice forms uneasy bonds with a calculating burglar and a ferocious man-killer while a glimmer of hope—letters and possible escape—drives him onward. In parallel, Frank (Dainty) Ellerton and Rose Fielding confront social stigma and family sorrow, while Jennie Holdershed loyally aids Maurice’s cause, dreaming of a brighter future. Across Dieppe, Weymouth, and Bournemouth, the tale interweaves romance, class tension, and the criminal underworld as conspirators smuggle messages and plan an exit from Portland. The Yuxtaposition of storm, sea, and shore culminates in a dramatic rescue attempt on Chesil Beach, where Jennie sacrifices herself to save Dainty and Maurice, and where Maurice’s fate is left shrouded. The story closes with a hopeful if fragile future for Rosie and Dainty, memory of Jennie, and the enduring sorrow of Broken Bonds.

650 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2010

About the author

Henry Hawley Smart (1833–1893) was an English army officer and novelist, who wrote as Capt. Hawley Smart.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_H...