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For the Term of His Natural Life
For the Term of His Natural Life
For the Term of His Natural Life
Audiobook18 hours

For the Term of His Natural Life

Written by Marcus Clarke

Narrated by LibriVox Community

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About this audiobook

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. The harsh and inhumane treatment meted out to the convicts, some of whom were transported for relatively minor crimes, is clearly conveyed. The conditions experienced by the convicts are graphically described. The novel was based on research by the author as well as a visit to the penal settlement of Port Arthur, Tasmania. (summary from Wikipedia)
LanguageEnglish
PublisherLibriVox
Release dateAug 25, 2014
Author

Marcus Clarke

Marcus Clarke (1846-1881) was an Australian novelist, journalist, poet, and librarian. Born in London, Clarke was educated at Highgate School, where he was a classmate of poet and priest Gerard Manley Hopkins. Orphaned in 1862, Clarke emigrated to Australia the following year. After toiling as a bank clerk in Melbourne, he moved to a remote station along the Wimmera River and learned the art of farming. In 1867, having published several stories for the Australian Magazine, Clarke found steady work with The Argus and The Australasian back in Melbourne, gaining a reputation as a popular journalist of urban life. In 1870, after taking a trip to Tasmania to report on the status of the nation’s penal colonies, Clarke began publishing his novel For the Term of His Natural Life (1874) in serial installments in The Australian Journal. The work was quickly recognized as a classic of Australian literature, earning its author comparisons to such literary titans as Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Towards the end of his life, Clarke worked as an assistant librarian at the Melbourne Public Library—now the State Library Victoria—where many of his manuscripts, notebooks, letters, and diaries are held today.

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