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The Price of Freedom
It begins in 1834 when my great- grandfather, young George White, aged 17, was wrongfully arrested for theft in England, and sentenced to a term of seven years' transportation to 'parts beyond the seas.'
A humble mill worker, he is schooled in literacy by his mother, and later learns he is heir to his grandfather's business. After a mill fire he decides to seek clerical work in London, but becomes the victim of a plot to disinherit him.
Unjustly arrested, he spends time in Newgate Gaol. He meets other prisoners, and witnesses the 'Service of the Dead' before the condemned are hanged. Later, he is sent to a prison hulk on the Thames. In the gloomy flush deck he mixes with scores of men in leg-irons, six to a cell. He suffers the constant noise of rattling chains, the shouting of coarse oaths, the filth and vermin, and overpowering stench of hoards of miserable inhabitants. He witnesses floggings, and works on a dredge and in the prison foundry. He uses a ploy to embark on a convict ship. En route to Van Diemen's Land he has more adventures, makes new friends, survives illness, a fire on board, and a dramatic shipwreck.
He is assigned to work in Launceston where he meets his future wife. A fellow prisoner, she tells her story. Romance blossoms, but he is flogged and sent to Port Arthur Prison for seven years. Here, he suffers many hardships before receiving his ticket -of -leave. He meets his love again only to lose her once more. She is sent to the Female factory with hundreds of other women where their behavior and antics in close confinement are a revelation to her. Denouement comes in an unusual way.
A humble mill worker, he is schooled in literacy by his mother, and later learns he is heir to his grandfather's business. After a mill fire he decides to seek clerical work in London, but becomes the victim of a plot to disinherit him.
Unjustly arrested, he spends time in Newgate Gaol. He meets other prisoners, and witnesses the 'Service of the Dead' before the condemned are hanged. Later, he is sent to a prison hulk on the Thames. In the gloomy flush deck he mixes with scores of men in leg-irons, six to a cell. He suffers the constant noise of rattling chains, the shouting of coarse oaths, the filth and vermin, and overpowering stench of hoards of miserable inhabitants. He witnesses floggings, and works on a dredge and in the prison foundry. He uses a ploy to embark on a convict ship. En route to Van Diemen's Land he has more adventures, makes new friends, survives illness, a fire on board, and a dramatic shipwreck.
He is assigned to work in Launceston where he meets his future wife. A fellow prisoner, she tells her story. Romance blossoms, but he is flogged and sent to Port Arthur Prison for seven years. Here, he suffers many hardships before receiving his ticket -of -leave. He meets his love again only to lose her once more. She is sent to the Female factory with hundreds of other women where their behavior and antics in close confinement are a revelation to her. Denouement comes in an unusual way.
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First published August 9, 2005
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October 14, 2010
What a riveting story. The writing captured me from the moment I began reading. I felt drawn into the fabric of the times, and could almost smell the odours, feel the heat, and wince with the pain along with the convicts. This is superb writing indeed. The book breathes life into the history.
Displaying 1 of 1 review