AustLit

Australia's most amazing characters of the convict age.

'In Heroes, Rebels and Radicals of Convict Australia, our master storyteller Jim Haynes has collected a fascinating cast of characters who embody the resourcefulness, bravery, defiance, successes and tragedies of the convict era, the men and women who forged the nation we would one day become.

'There's Joseph Banks, the true founder of the colony; Surgeon John White, the saviour of the First Fleet; Pemulwuy, the Bidjigal freedom fighter; Mary Reiby, the horse thief who made good; Sapy Lovell, the Eora gypsy convict; John Donohue, the wild colonial boy; Lady Jane Franklin, the true leader of Van Diemen's Land – and many more!

'Why did transportation occur, why did it end, and what was it like living in Australia from 1788 to 1870? Skilfully researched and told in Jim's warm and witty style, Heroes, Rebels and Radicals of Convict Australia answers these questions and brings to life well-known and unknown figures from Australia's history as a penal settlement. This is the true story of the colonisation of Australia.' (Publication summary)

'An incredible collection of true crime characters from Australia's master storyteller.

'The bold, the bad, and the slightly mad...

'Criminality, some say, is part of Australia's national identity, and in Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags Jim Haynes profiles fifteen larger-than-life Aussie rogues - some of our greatest ne'er-do-wells from colonial times to the modern era. These stories uncover the truth and expose the myths about characters ranging from the most despicable examples of humanity, to those whose courage has to be admired and whose so-called 'crimes' were unjustly punished.

'This fascinating collection features felons who have sprung from Australia's underbelly since 1788, such as the infamous Kate Leigh of the razor gangs; the convict Mary Bryant, who in 1791 escaped from the Sydney penal settlement and somehow made it back to England; James Hardy Vaux, who was sent to Australia no less than three times; Henry James O'Farrell, the madman who attempted to murder Prince Alfred in Sydney in 1868; and Victoria Cross recipient John Leak, who was repeatedly charged with insolence, disobedience and being absent without leave.

'Told with Jim's inimitable combination of history and humour, Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags is packed with murders, mystery and miscreants: true stories of true criminals from Australia's past.'  (Publication summary)

'In the many years Jim has spent talking and writing about the quirkier events and people in our history, he has come across characters whose lives have amazed, surprised and amused him. This is a book about some of those people and their bizarre, remarkable and out of the ordinary lives.

'And in only the way Jim can, he's discovered that there is always more to the story than first meets the eye. Who knew, for example, that the first man hanged in Australia made an artefact now valued at over one million dollars? Or that an Australian swimmer was the highest paid act on the American vaudeville circuit and the star of the first movie ever made with a budget of one million American dollars? And that the father of the first Australian woman to serve in parliament was hanged for murder?

'These are the stories of lives that capture the heart and soul of the Australian character.' (Publication summary)

'Here, put into their historical and social context and told in layman's terms, are the stories of Australia's iconic battles and campaigns, from the time of federation to the Vietnam War. Many are still household names today, although their historical significance is a mystery to most Aussies. Some are barely remembered now but are part of our history and deserve to be told. Most importantly, this collection of entertaining, well-told stories demonstrates the extraordinary courage, resilience, stoic humour, personal heroism and sacrifice that created the legend of the Aussie digger; soldiers, sailors and airmen who did things their own way and earned the undying respect of both their allies and their enemies.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Alcohol has played a major, quite disproportionate role in the history of our nation since 1769 and our 'national character', social history and accepted cultural attitudes over those 250 years. Some of the stories in this collection celebrate the social gift of alcohol. Riotous evenings of complete surrender to Bacchus, or business deals sealed with booze, grave social occasions subverted by drink. Other stories are salutary tales that deal with the consequences of getting 'roaring drunk': the hangovers, sufferings and recriminations—the harsh realities. And still others represent the darker side of drinking and finally facing some harsh alcoholic truths. So, here is a collection of history, anecdotes, stories, verse and literature about Australian drinking. Amusing, informative, entertaining and thought-provoking, it will hopefully neither drive you to drink nor turn you away from the pleasures of alcohol in moderation.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Australia is the birthplace and setting of some of the wildest, craziest and least-likely-to-succeed cons and rorts in history. So how did a clever bushman who 'couldn't lie straight in bed' steal a thousand head of cattle and get away with it even though he was caught 'red handed'? Or how about the butcher from Wagga who passed himself off as a French-born English duke to inherit a small fortune. And then there was the small matter of a horse, a tin of paint and a million-dollar double-cross that became known as the Fine Cotton Affair. In only the way he can, Jim Haynes has collected a veritable 'Gullible's Tales' of unexpected and surprising true stories that may seem hard to believe.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.