One of the most famous early Australian novels, this holds up really well. There is some outrageously florid Victorian dialogue, far too many coincidences (few of which are needed for the plot), lots of repetition (it's full of escape attempts and mutinies), and occasional bouts of silliness... but it's a great yarn that kept me gripped. Clarke researched his piece well, and it all feels tremendously authentic, especially the description of Port Arthur (which is the focus of the third part, easily the best).
There are some quite brilliant sequences - the breathtaking escape of John Rex, the fate of the cannibal convicts (based on the Alexander Pearce story), the treatment of the soft convict (who, it is implied, gets raped), being marooned at Macquarie Harbour, the suicide of the two little boys, the death of Blind Mooney, the final escape and storm.
It's also full of memorable characterisations - the tormented alcoholic Reverend North, cool gentleman con man John Rex (who is actually very brave and I found myself enjoying his company more than Rufus Dawes at times), ferociously vicious Maurice Frere, devoted femme fetale Sarah Purfoy (who knows Rex is bad for her but can't resist a bad boy), vicious Gabbett, and various shonky convicts and guards.
The lead duo of Rufus Dawes and Sylvia aren't as compelling. It's not entirely there fault - by virtue of plot poor old Dawes has to spend 20 years mostly locked up getting flogged and tormented, which isn't as compelling as what the others get up to. I always felt he was a bit of a dill getting convicted so long in the first place - I guess he didn't want his mother to be disgraced with that out of wedlock thing, but after say the fifth year in irons wouldn't you be blabbing to anyone you could using whatever angle you could come up with, to get out of there? I did feel for him after his betrayal by Frere after helping him and the Vickers girls near Macquarie Harbour... that had more impact for me. Even then though he kept silent a lot, and let lots of things happen to him.
Sylvia Vickers is a 19th century novel heroine, so she has pretty curls and is dainty. However Clarke gets points by having her psychologically messed up from the get go - reading violent books, being traumatised by childhood experiences and mentally destroyed by her husband. It is very sad that her and Dawes die in the storm (a real downer of an ending)... but after all these two have been through I can't imagine that their life together would have been a bed of roses. (NB I'd love to track down the American edition of the story, which had a happy ending - I feel this would have been more satisfactory.)
Some other debits that any person adapting would have to fix up: we don't get an ending for Maurice Frere (convicts rising up and killing him would be perfect) or Reverend North; it's a bit silly for Frere to be Dawes' cousin and North to be the one responsible for the theft of Lord Bellasis. But it's a really terrific yarn.
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