A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia
by Keneally, Thomas
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Near Fine/Near Fine (in mylar)
- ISBN 10
- 038551459X
- ISBN 13
- 9780385514590
- Seller
-
Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
It was 1786 when Arthur Phillip, an ambitious captain in the Royal Navy, was assigned the formidable task of organizing an expedition to Australia in order to establish a penal colony. The squalid and turbulent prisons of London were overflowing, and crime was on the rise. Even the hulks sifting at anchor in the Thames were packed with malcontent criminals and petty thieves. So the English government decided to undertake the unprecedented move of shipping off its convicts to a largely unexplored landmass at the other end of the world.Using the personal journals and documents that were kept during this expedition, historian/novelist Thomas Keneally re-creates the grueling overseas voyage, a hellish, suffocating journey that claimed the lives of many convicts. Miraculously, the fleet reached the shores of what was then called New South Wales in 1788, and after much trial and error, the crew managed to set up a rudimentary yet vibrant settlement. As governor of the colony, Phillip took on the challenges of dealing with unruly convicts, disgruntled officers, a bewildered, sometimes hostile native population, as well as such serious matters as food shortages and disease. Moving beyond Phillip, Keneally offers captivating portrayals of Aborigines, who both aided and opposed Phillip, and of the settlers, including convicts who were determined to overcome their pasts and begin anew.With the authority of a renowned historian and the narrative grace of a brilliant novelist, Thomas Keneally offers an insider's perspective into the dramatic saga of the birth of a vibrant society in an unfamiliar land. A Commonwealth of Thieves immerses us in the fledgling penal colony and conjures up colorful scenes of the joy and heartbreak, the thrills and hardships that characterized those first four improbable years. The result is a lively and engrossing work of history, as well as a tale of redemption for the thousands of convicts who started new lives thousands of miles from their homes.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Clausen Books, RMABA (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- SB14860
- Title
- A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia
- Author
- Keneally, Thomas
- Illustrator
- Maps
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine (in mylar)
- Edition
- Reprint
- ISBN 10
- 038551459X
- ISBN 13
- 9780385514590
- Publisher
- Nan A. Talese
- Place of Publication
- NY
- Date Published
- 2006
- Keywords
- Historical Fiction, Australia, Immigrants to Australia
- Size
- 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Terms of Sale
Clausen Books, RMABA
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About the Seller
Clausen Books, RMABA
About Clausen Books, RMABA
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Reprint
- Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...