Australian Historical Fiction
Sydney Cove 1788 to Parramatta 1795
Not all felons are convicts, and not all convicts are felons.
Colin Osborne’s serene life as a talented potter is disrupted by a self-important rival. A single punch sends Colin across to the other side of the globe.
Aggie Gibbs is a young convict girl being hunted by a wayward soldier. The two find themselves in a town of criminals and lecherous men.
Captain John Hunter is Colin’s mentor, and he paves the way for a new life for his young friends. Then disaster strikes, and he must leave.
Can Colin keep Aggie safe?
Will they fulfil Captain John Hunter’s wish to build a decent life for the convicts destined to live out their lives in the penal town? Will John ever return to New South Wales?
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A convict’s life is never easy, but being banished from your homeland, never to return, for what was, in reality, a petty crime, was downright cruel. Many of the soldiers who later guarded the so-called criminals were employed from local goals and lock-ups and had committed crimes worse than those they guarded.
Of the many convicts sent to Australia, most used this opportunity to create a good life for themselves. They married, had families and became constructive members of their communities.
These same soldiers, later called the ‘exclusives,’ often became the thorns in the sides of the ruling governors. They were not afraid to break the rules they were supposed to enforce.
Seven of the first ten governors were recalled to London, only to be exonerated. Yet, London continued to believe the lies they were being fed.
When Lachlan Macquarie arrived in 1809, things began to change… but that’s an entirely new series.
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Buy your copy of “The Emancipated Potter” to follow Colin and Aggie’s life in a penal colony.
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This is the 2nd book in my First Fleet Trilogy.
Watch for “Paternity Unknown” coming soon—the final book in the trilogy.
