For the Term of His Natural Life

by Marcus Clarke, Rohan Wilson (Introduction)

Overview

A masterpiece in style and scope, Marcus Clarke’s For the Term of His Natural Life is an ambitious tale of tragedy, redemption, and the ugliness and resilience of man.

Wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit, a young aristocrat is sent to pay his dues in Van Diemen’s Land. As a criminal in this new colony, Rufus Dawes is forced to endure tremendous suffering and inhumanity, from the baseless cruelty of those in power to the harsh brutalities of an untamed country. Yet, with enduring human spirit and unrelenting determination, Dawes remains ever desperate to clear his name, no matter the trials that come his way.

First published in 1874, Marcus Clarke’s vivid and brutal depictions of convict life have come to define our colonial history. Still beloved by readers today, For the Term of His Natural Life remains the most important Australian book of the nineteenth century, and a vital part of our cultural and literary identity.

Marcus Clarke was born in 1846 in Kensington, London. At age seventeen Clarke left England for Australia, where his uncle was a county court judge. Despite an early career in banking, Clarke had begun to write professionally by 1867, penning stories for the Australian Magazine and working as a theatre critic for the Melbourne Argus. Commissioned by the Australian Journal to write a serial about convict life, Clarke produced his masterwork, His Natural Life. Republished as a novel in 1874 under the new title For the Term of His Natural Life, Clarke's epic tale of crime and punishment was later distributed in Britain, America, Germany and many other countries. Marcus Clarke died in Melbourne in 1881, aged thirty-five.

‘A beautiful edition of an Aussie Classic.’ BookMooch

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781925410099
Publisher:	The Text Publishing Company
Publication date:	08/01/2016
Series:	Text Classics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	512
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Marcus Clarke was born in 1846 in Kensington, London. At age seventeen Clarke left England for Australia, where his uncle was a county court judge. Despite an early career in banking, Clarke had begun to write professionally by 1867, penning stories for the Australian Magazine and working as a theatre critic for the Melbourne Argus. Commissioned by the Australian Journal to write a serial about convict life, Clarke produced his masterwork, His Natural Life. Republished as a novel in 1874 under the new title For the Term of His Natural Life, Clarke's epic tale of crime and punishment was later distributed in Britain, America, Germany and many other countries.

Marcus Clarke died in Melbourne in 1881, aged thirty-five.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	ix
	Preface	1
	Prologue	3
Book 1	The Sea - 1827
1.	The Prison Ship	15
2.	Sarah Purfoy	23
3.	The Monotony Breaks	32
4.	The Hospital	36
5.	The Barracoon	41
6.	The Fate of the Hydaspes	48
7.	Typhus Fever	58
8.	A Dangerous Crisis	66
9.	Woman's Weapons	74
10.	Eight Bells	79
11.	Discoveries and Confessions	89
12.	A Newspaper Paragraph	93
Book 2	Macquarie Harbour - 1833
13.	The Topography of Van Dieman's Land	97
14.	The Solitary of "Hell's Gates"	101
15.	A Social Evening	105
16.	The Bolter	116
17.	Sylvia	120
18.	A Leap in the Dark	124
19.	The Last of Macquarie Harbour	132
20.	The Power of the Wilderness	138
21.	The Seizure of the Osprey	145
22.	John Rex's Revenge	152
23.	Left at "Hell's Gates"	159
24.	"Mr." Dawes	172
25.	What the Seaweed Suggested	181
26.	A Wonderful Day's Work	186
27.	The Coracle	194
28.	The Writing on the Sand	201
29.	At Sea	206
Book 3	Port Arthur - 1838
30.	A Labourer in the Vineyard	215
31.	Sarah Purfoy's Request	228
32.	The Story of Two Birds of Prey	239
33.	"The Notorious Dawes"	248
34.	Maurice Frere's Good Angel	257
35.	Mr. Meekin Administers Consolation	262
36.	Rufus Dawes's Idyll	268
37.	An Escape	273
38.	John Rex's Letter Home	277
39.	What Became of the Mutineers of the Osprey	287
40.	A Relic of Macquarie Harbour	301
41.	At Port Arthur	304
42.	The Commandant's Butler	309
43.	Mr. North's Indisposition	314
44.	One Hundred Lashes	323
45.	Kicking Against the Pricks	329
46.	Captain and Mrs. Frere	334
47.	In the Hospital	339
48.	The Consolation of Religion	343
49.	"A Natural Penitentiary"	347
50.	A Visit of Inspection	351
51.	Gathering in the Threads	361
52.	Running the Gauntlet	374
53.	In the Night	381
54.	The Flight	388
55.	The Work of the Sea	393
56.	The Valley of the Shadow of Death	406
Book 4	Norfolk Island - 1846
57.	Extracted from the Diary of the Rev. James North	417
58.	The Lost Heir	429
59.	Extracted from the Diary of the Rev. James North	441
60.	Extracted from the Diary of the Rev. James North	449
61.	Mr. Richard Devine Surprised	454
62.	In Which the Chaplain is Taken Ill	459
63.	Breaking a Man's Spirit	467
64.	Extracted from the Diary of the Rev. James North	472
65.	The Longest Straw	477
66.	A Meeting	483
67.	Extracted from the Diary of the Rev. James North	491
68.	The Strange Behaviour of Mr. North	495
69.	Mr. North Speaks	501
70.	Getting Ready for Sea	507
71.	The Discovery	517
72.	Fifteen Hours	523
73.	The Redemption	526
74.	The Cyclone	532
	Epilogue	538
	Appendix	539