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'A dramatic and fast-paced biography of a currency lass born to parents who were emancipated convicts. When 15-year-old Mary Ann Gill attempted to elope with gentleman settler John Kinchela in 1848, they became the focus of a national scandal which was nearly their undoing.
'One wet autumn evening in 1848, 15-year-old Mary Ann Gill stole out of a bedroom window in her father's Sydney hotel and took a coach to a local racecourse. There she was to elope with James Butler Kinchela, wayward son of the former Attorney-General. Her enraged father pursued them on horseback and fired two pistols at his daughter's suitor, narrowly avoiding killing him.
'What followed was Australia's most scandalous abduction trial of the era, as well as an extraordinary story of adventure and misadventure, both in Australia and abroad. Through humiliation, heartache, bankruptcy and betrayal, Mary Ann hung on to James' promise to marry her.
'This is a compelling biography of a currency lass born when convicts were still working the streets of Sydney. Starting with just a newspaper clipping, historian Kiera Lindsey has uncovered the world of her feisty great, great, great aunt, who lived and loved during a period of dramatic social and political change.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Biography and Biofiction : Seeking Women’s Voices from Nineteenth-century Australia
2022
single work
criticism
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue , no. 66 2022; 'From the mid twentieth century, second-wave feminism prompted interest from both historians and novelists in recovering the voices of women from the past. Where only sparse archival records were extant, a revised practice of biography was necessary, but differences arising from disciplinary approaches have led to debate on how this is best achieved. This essay analyses two contemporary publications that draw attention to lesser-known women’s experiences in colonial Australia: Melissa Ashley’s The Birdman’s Wife (2016) and Kiera Lindsey’s The Convict’s Daughter (2016). Marketed as fiction and biography respectively, these two texts nonetheless use similar techniques to recover the voices of these women from the archives and to share their stories with broad audiences: Immersive research; imaginative interpretation of documented records; character development through dialogue, emotions, thoughts and sensory details; use of literary techniques of imagery and dramatisation as signposts of fictionality. Through these techniques, and despite their generic differences, Ashley and Lindsey’s works evoke a powerful sense of their female subjects’ experiences and inner lives.'(Publication abstract)
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[Review Essay] The Convict’s Daughter
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 48 no. 2 2017; (p. 313-314)'The Convict’s Daughter is a historical biography of Mary Ann Gill, a first-generation Australian woman born to convict parents in Sydney, New South Wales. Written over a period of nine years, and driven, in part, by her ancestral connection to the main character, Kiera Lindsey offers an innovative addition to the historical writings on the period. The opening chapters of the book introduce us to Mary Ann as a fifteen-year-old girl who is determined to marry gentlemen settler, James Butler Kinchela. The ensuing scandal and events that follow are set against the tumultuous political and social conditions of the 1840s as the colony attempted to progress beyond its penal origins. Written from the perspective of this remarkable young woman, Lindsey avoids traditional historical conventions that often rely on the views of official documentation and their authors, to ensure the day-to-day experiences of colonial life remain the focus of the book – experiences which notably demonstrate the importance and lasting influence of women in the growth and success of Australia’s fledgling colonies.' (Introduction)
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[Untitled]
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 16 July 2016; (p. 36)
— Review of The Convict's Daughter : The Scandal That Shocked a Colony 2016 single work biography -
Review : The Convict's Daughter
2016
single work
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June-July no. 382 2016; (p. 61)
— Review of The Convict's Daughter : The Scandal That Shocked a Colony 2016 single work biography -
The Convict's Daughter Review : Kiera Lindsey's Account of a Scandalous Affair
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 3 June 2016;
— Review of The Convict's Daughter : The Scandal That Shocked a Colony 2016 single work biography 'The Convict's Daughter might be called "the new history" – highly readable, in fact, a compelling page-turner, but resting on solid scholarship. Subtitled The Scandal that Shocked a Colony, it tells the story of 15-year-old Mary Ann Gill, who eloped with the man of her dreams, James Kinchela. He had all the characteristics of a colonial Mr Rochester: well-born, tall, dark and handsome with the added attraction of wordly experience. Just the kind of gentlemen who would fascinate a teenage girl. ...'
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The Girl, Her Lover, Her Father and His Outrage
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 June 2016; (p. 25) The Age , 4-5 June 2016; (p. 25)
— Review of The Convict's Daughter : The Scandal That Shocked a Colony 2016 single work biography -
The Convict's Daughter Review : Kiera Lindsey's Account of a Scandalous Affair
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 3 June 2016;
— Review of The Convict's Daughter : The Scandal That Shocked a Colony 2016 single work biography 'The Convict's Daughter might be called "the new history" – highly readable, in fact, a compelling page-turner, but resting on solid scholarship. Subtitled The Scandal that Shocked a Colony, it tells the story of 15-year-old Mary Ann Gill, who eloped with the man of her dreams, James Kinchela. He had all the characteristics of a colonial Mr Rochester: well-born, tall, dark and handsome with the added attraction of wordly experience. Just the kind of gentlemen who would fascinate a teenage girl. ...' -
Review : The Convict's Daughter
2016
single work
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June-July no. 382 2016; (p. 61)
— Review of The Convict's Daughter : The Scandal That Shocked a Colony 2016 single work biography -
[Untitled]
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 16 July 2016; (p. 36)
— Review of The Convict's Daughter : The Scandal That Shocked a Colony 2016 single work biography -
Another Way to Enter the Past
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: History Australia , vol. 13 no. 4 2016; (p. 632-633)
— Review of The Convict's Daughter : The Scandal That Shocked a Colony 2016 single work biography -
Kiera Lindsey: Books That Changed Me
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 22 April 2016; 'Kiera Lindsey lecture in Australian history at the University of South Australian and won the inaugural Greg Dening memorial prize. ...' -
[Review Essay] The Convict’s Daughter
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 48 no. 2 2017; (p. 313-314)'The Convict’s Daughter is a historical biography of Mary Ann Gill, a first-generation Australian woman born to convict parents in Sydney, New South Wales. Written over a period of nine years, and driven, in part, by her ancestral connection to the main character, Kiera Lindsey offers an innovative addition to the historical writings on the period. The opening chapters of the book introduce us to Mary Ann as a fifteen-year-old girl who is determined to marry gentlemen settler, James Butler Kinchela. The ensuing scandal and events that follow are set against the tumultuous political and social conditions of the 1840s as the colony attempted to progress beyond its penal origins. Written from the perspective of this remarkable young woman, Lindsey avoids traditional historical conventions that often rely on the views of official documentation and their authors, to ensure the day-to-day experiences of colonial life remain the focus of the book – experiences which notably demonstrate the importance and lasting influence of women in the growth and success of Australia’s fledgling colonies.' (Introduction)
-
Biography and Biofiction : Seeking Women’s Voices from Nineteenth-century Australia
2022
single work
criticism
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue , no. 66 2022; 'From the mid twentieth century, second-wave feminism prompted interest from both historians and novelists in recovering the voices of women from the past. Where only sparse archival records were extant, a revised practice of biography was necessary, but differences arising from disciplinary approaches have led to debate on how this is best achieved. This essay analyses two contemporary publications that draw attention to lesser-known women’s experiences in colonial Australia: Melissa Ashley’s The Birdman’s Wife (2016) and Kiera Lindsey’s The Convict’s Daughter (2016). Marketed as fiction and biography respectively, these two texts nonetheless use similar techniques to recover the voices of these women from the archives and to share their stories with broad audiences: Immersive research; imaginative interpretation of documented records; character development through dialogue, emotions, thoughts and sensory details; use of literary techniques of imagery and dramatisation as signposts of fictionality. Through these techniques, and despite their generic differences, Ashley and Lindsey’s works evoke a powerful sense of their female subjects’ experiences and inner lives.'(Publication abstract)
- Sydney, New South Wales,
- 1848
