For the Term of His Natural Life: The Historic Epic
por Marcus Clarke
- Usado
- Brochura
- first
- Condição
- Fair Condition
- ISBN 10
- 0646182587
- ISBN 13
- 9780646182582
- Livreiro
-
King River, Western Australia, Australia
Formas de pagamento
Sobre este item
Sinopse
For the Term of His Natural Life, written by Marcus Clarke, was published in the Australian Journal between 1870 and 1872 (as His Natural Life), appearing as a novel in 1874. It is the best known novelisation of life as a convict in early Australian history. Described as a "ripping yarn", and at times relying on seemingly implausible coincidences, the story follows the fortunes of Rufus Dawes, a young man transported for a murder which he did not commit.
Avaliações
"We convicts have the advantage over you gentlemen. You are afraid of death; we pray for it. It is the best thing that can happen to us. Die! They were going to hang me once. I wish they had. My God, I wish they had!"
For The Term Of His Natural Life is the best-known novel by Australian author, Marcus Clarke. It was first published in 1874, although it began as a serialised novel titled His Natural Life, published in the Australian Journal. Text Publishing have produced a handsome volume under their Text Classics banner.
There are significant differences in the plot between the original (unabridged) edition and later editions of this novel; the first book has been reduced to a prologue; the text has been condensed into a much more readable form, and much of the (frankly, boring and often unimportant) detail has been omitted; and the ending is completely different. Thus, for example, in excess of 150 pages of book 2 of the original edition are reduced to a much more manageable 75 pages in this edition.
Clarke managed to pack a lot into his novel: perhaps as it began in serialised form, each episode needed some drama: a parental estrangement, a very rich will, a secret identity, a wrongful conviction, transport on a convict ship, a mutiny, another wrongful conviction, flogging, suicide attempts, multiple escape attempts (at least one involving cannibalism), another mutiny, abandonment on a deserted shore, the construction of a coracle, yet another wrongful conviction, many years of penal servitude, the claiming of an inheritance by an imposter, quite a few confessions and a shipwreck.
This novel has been described as the Australian Count of Monte Cristo and while it is considered an Australian Classic, as historical fiction, it is not really up to the standard of Dumas's writing. The most exciting chapters, by far, are those detailing the escape from Port of Arthur of convict, John Rex. It is filled with improbable coincidences, and while he draws on many real occurrences in Tasmania's history, Clarke's emphasis is on the cruelty of convict life. Rufus Dawes is one very unlucky man!
This book will appeal to those who enjoy Australian historical fiction written from the closer perspective of fifty years as opposed to almost one hundred and fifty. A map of the relevant parts would have been helpful, but Wikipedia serves equally, these days. Text Classics include an introduction by author, Rohan Wilson and an evocative cover by the talented WH Chong. A beautiful edition of an Aussie Classic.
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Detalhes
- Livreiro
- Great Southern Books (AU)
- Nº do estoque do livreiro
- 8943
- Título
- For the Term of His Natural Life: The Historic Epic
- Autor
- Marcus Clarke
- Formato/Encadernação
- Softcover
- Estado do livro
- Usado - Fair Condition
- Quantidade Disponível
- 1
- Edição
- First Edition
- Encadernação
- Brochura
- ISBN 10
- 0646182587
- ISBN 13
- 9780646182582
- Editorial
- Book Agencies of Tasmania
- Local de publicação
- Hobart
- Data de publicação
- 2000
- Palavras-chave
- BZDB137 convicts, australia, tasmania, port arthur, imprisonment, fiction, history, Fiction; Australia; 19th century; ISBN: 0646182587 EAN: 9780646182582 Marcus Clarke For the Term of His Natural Life: The Historic Epic
Termos da venda
Great Southern Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
Sobre o Vendedor
Great Southern Books
Sobre Great Southern Books
Glossário
Alguns termos que podem ser usados ??nesta descrição incluem:
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Foxed
- Foxing is the age related browning, or brown-yellowish spots, that can occur to book paper over time. When this aging process...
- 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....
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Fair
- is a worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc....
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...