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The Fatal Shore Kindle Edition

by Robert Hughes (Author)

15 customer reviews

in History of Slavery & Emancipation

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An award-winning epic on the birth of Australia

In 1787, the twenty-eighth year of the reign of King George III, the British Government sent a fleet to colonise Australia.

Documenting the brutal transportation of men, women and children out of Georgian Britain into a horrific penal system which was to be the precursor to the Gulag and was the origin of Australia, The Fatal Shore is the definitive, masterfully written narrative that has given its true history to Australia.

'A unique phantasmagoria of crime and punishment, which combines the shadowy terrors of Goya with the tumescent life of Dickens' Times

Length: 720 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Language: English

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Product description

Review

"One of the greatest non-fiction books I've ever read . . . Hughes brings us an entire world." --Los Angeles Times

"A great achievement: Hughes has a story to tell as vivid, large-scale, and appalling as anything by Dickens or Solzhenitsyn, but one that's virtually unknown--until the writing of this splendid book." --Susan Sontag

"Engrossing . . . richly peopled with bizarre and compelling characters." --The New York Times Book Review

"A magnificent history, with a richness of detail that is as mesmerizing as it is horrifying. . . . It is both passionate and compassionate." --The Washington Post Book World

"Splendid . . . Robert Hughes combines the narrative skills of the authors of Mutiny on the Bounty with the sharp eye of de Tocqueville." --Gorde Vidal

"A brilliant and enduring achievement . . . history of the highest order combining thorough research with vivid narrative and thoughtful assessment." --Arthur M. Schlesinger

Book Description

'An extraordinary vivid yet authentic account of the birthpangs of a nation. A work of real distinction' Philip Ziegler

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Product details

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 2263 KB
Print Length: 720 pages
Publisher: Vintage Digital; New Ed edition (23 February 2010)
Sold by: PRH UK
Language: English
ASIN: B003ATPQ8E
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Not Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Average Customer Review: 15 customer reviews
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #8,558 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #1 in Books > History > World > Slavery & Emancipation
- #7 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Travel > Essays & Travelogues
- #7 in Books > History > Modern (16th-21st Centuries) > 18th Century

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Romanov

tough and trustworthy men and women who developed "Mateship" These were the people who joined up in their thousands to fight for

2 November 2015

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This a must read for all Australians - particularly those who descended from our early settlers. It depicts the seeds that were sown by those deported from a rather cruel England. They became a race of hard working, tough and trustworthy men and women who developed "Mateship"
These were the people who joined up in their thousands to fight for England in the Great War, to show that the offspring of Convicts were decent people. When you read of their treatment in the penal settlements you wonder why they would even speak to the English let alone foght and die for them. If you are interested in the development of early Australia then this is a must read.

2 people found this helpful

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Jane B

Fascinating early history

13 January 2019

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I’d always meant to read this well known book about Australia’s early history during the convict period, and I’m glad I did. It’s very long, filled with detail and interesting information about the people and places of the nation. It can be heavy going and I read it over a month interspersed with other ‘lighter’ books. There’s so many interesting aspects of the convict system and the author has used a variety of primary source material to back his work. Excellent quality reading for those who history fascinates.

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Amazon Customer

A disurbingly good read

19 May 2014

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Imagine being 18 years old, charged with theft and drunkeness and you've been transported to Australia, never to see your family again. You're whipped to the bone and the ants carry off your flesh which has fallen to the ground. Your wounds are left untreated and allowed to become infested with maggots. You've been denied water, and fed via a long pole. You're taunted by passers-by in boats who laugh at you, the naked sun blackened "wild beast" who has been chained to a rock on Goat Island for the last two years. Is it any wonder that one day you will die insane? This is just one story of a convict named Charles "Boney" Anderson that is contained in this book. This and the rest of the contents inside will open your eyes to the wicked conditions that prevailed in early Australian convict history and after reading this book, no person with a heart will never be the same.

5 people found this helpful

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Francis Richardson

Understanding how Australia came to be

1 September 2018

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Overall I liked the book very much, though it was a little 'dry' in places. I consider the book to be essential reading to understand how and why the convict system began; how cruelly many of the convicts were treated; and how bad it was on Norfolk Island and Macquarie Harbour. I will admit to bias because of my great-grandfather, George Willey, getting a mention early in the book.

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Amazon Customer

The Fatal Shore

9 May 2017

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As a Canadian ex-Pat living here in Australia for 20 years +, this warts and all history of the founding of the country was an awesome revelation! I love that Mr Hughes adds so many words that I delight in looking up to understand its context to the narrative.

One person found this helpful

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Frank Wagner

What a read!

8 July 2014

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A well researched book providing an insight into the horrible trade in human lives to settle a newly discovered continent.

2 people found this helpful

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Elaine Foster

Required reading to appreciate Australian roots

19 October 2014

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Australia's beginnings in white man's terms
How did they create the wondrous community we now live in from such horrendous events
We are indeed the lucky country and have overcome the tyranny of distance

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Hard to put down.

15 April 2016

Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The depth of the research to put it together must have taken an enormous amount of time. Despite the obvious amount of work it is a very readable text from beginning to end.

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