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Synopsis
A convict colony in New South Wales, Australia is the setting for Carol Birch's new novel, based on real events. New South Wales, 1817. Margaret Catchpole is stranded at a settler's homestead as the floodwater draws in, and she finds herself facing death - as she has several times before. She looks back over her life - the complex and stormy partnership with Will Laud, a 'hell-born-babe', that led her into the world of smuggling and into a double life. After Will is forced to flee the country, Margaret is taken on as a nursemaid by the wealthy Cobbold family, but a crime against them means she is tried and sentenced to hang. She avoids death but when an elaborate gaol escape fails, Will is shot dead and Margaret captured. Sentenced once more to hang, she looks death full in the face. But she doesn't die. Her sentence is transmuted to transportation for life to Australia. The novel explores a deeply divided society. Ironically, by reaching the lowest depths and being cast out by the society which spawned her, Margaret finds her true role as an independent pioneer in a young colony.
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About the Author
Carol Birch was born in Manchester. Author of seven novels, she has won the David Higham Award, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and was longlisted for the 2003 ManBooker Prize. She lives in Lancaster.
Review
** 'Birch deftly tells a story spanning several decades, with an intensity that is . . . lyrical . . . . and evokes the period without compromising her complex diachronic concerns―TLS ** '[Birch has] a first class voice . . . An exciting and evocative fictional version of the life of Margaret Catchpole . . . The novel is a triumph of texture and historical detailā??
TLS―** 'A rich portrait of a shadowy world of 18th century sailors and smugglers, full of characters both charming and fatally flawed. Fans of Margaret Atwood's ALIAS GRACE will enjoy this engaging and co
SUNDAY TIMES―** 'Birch deftly tells a story spanning several decades, with an intensity that is . . . lyrical . . . . and evokes the period without compromising her complex diachronic concernsā??
PSYCHOLOGIES―** 'Birch is a naturally literary writer who can, with a simple image, evoke the deepest emotionā??
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- PublisherVirago
- Publication date2007
- ISBN 10 1844085074
- ISBN 13 9781844085071
- BindingPaperback
- Rating
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Scapegallows
Published by
Virago Press, London, England, 2007
ISBN 10: 1844085074
ISBN 13: 9781844085071
Used
Medium Softcover
First Edition
Seller: Reading Habit, Buttaba, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Medium Softcover. Condition: USED_GOOD. First UK Trade Paperback Edition. Medium softcover, first UK trade paperback edition, 494gms, 435 pages. Based on a true story, this is the story of Margaret Catchpole, sentenced to hang not once, but twice, she escaped and became an Australian pioneer. Book is in good condition with minor general wear and tear and moderate to heavy page discolouration/spotting throughout, otherwise no other pre-loved markings. Seller Inventory # AUSFIC99224
Quantity: 1 available