A Commonwealth of Thieves
The Improbable Birth of Australia
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group · Print & ebook · December 4, 2007
In this spirited history of the remarkable first four years of the convict settlement of Australia, Thomas Keneally offers us a human view of a fascinating piece of history.
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- Who it’s for
- A narrative history brings the settlement’s first four years into human focus.
- Themes
- Australia’s convict settlement, Colonial hardship, Starting life anew
- Genres
- Australia & New Zealand History, 18th-Century History, Oceania History
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Start with this bookAbout this book
In this spirited history of the remarkable first four years of the convict settlement of Australia, Thomas Keneally offers us a human view of a fascinating piece of history. Combining the authority of a renowned historian with a brilliant narrative flair, Keneally gives us an inside view of this unprecedented experiment from the perspective of the new colony’s governor, Arthur Phillips.
Continue reading
Using personal journals and documents, Keneally re-creates the hellish overseas voyage and the challenges Phillips faced upon arrival: unruly convicts, disgruntled officers, bewildered and hostile natives, food shortages, and disease. He also offers captivating portrayals of Aborigines and of convict settlers who were determined to begin their lives anew. A Commonwealth of Thieves immerses us in the fledgling penal colony and conjures up the thrills and hardships of those first four improbable years.
History at Ground Level
A narrative history brings the settlement’s first four years into human focus.
Come here for
- The early colony seen through its governor’s perspective
- Journals and documents alongside the hardships of settlement
Expect
- A spirited account of an improbable beginning
- Convicts, officers, Aboriginal people, shortages, and disease in view
Where it sits
| Australia & New Zealand History | 97% |
|---|---|
| 18th-Century History | 50% |
| Oceania History | 35% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Australia & New Zealand History
- 17th-Century History
- Oceania History
- Authors
- Thomas Keneally
- Publisher
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Published
- December 4, 2007
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Australia’s convict settlement · Colonial hardship · Starting life anew
- Reading lane
- Australia & New Zealand History