In the second half of 1700s England was faced with a dilemma: What to do with their convicts. American continent was no longer available for it due to the American Revolution. So, England started looking for a new route. England started sending their convicts to Australia. This is a story of the very First Fleet to arrive. At the heart of the story is Mary Bryant, who was convicted for a highway robbery and sentenced for a transportation to Australia. Carolly Erickson does a great job describing the awful conditions on those prison transport ships, as well as the horrors that were facing the prisoners and mariners once they landed in Australia. Almost instantly it became clear that they were not prepared for a life in a new place: their crops refused to take and grow, the land was not as furtile as it was believed, relations with aborigines people weren't always friendly, the food was running out fast, and no help from the outside world was in sight. Facing a certain death from many deceases or from the famine, several convicts, including Mary, her husband, and her two children, decided on a dire escape. Against all odds they made a journey of over 3600 miles and landed in a Dutch colony. Unfortunatelly, the truth about them was soon out in the open and, once again Mary and the rest of the convicts were arrested and transfered to England for yet another trial. What will happen to Mary now?
This is an excellent story. Clearly it was well researched, however I found Carolly Erickson's writing a little mediocre.

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"The Girl From Botany Bay" is a really riveting story from the early days of transporting prisoners to Australia, and it's pretty amazing stuff. This was my first book by Erikson, and she's a solid, if not particularly inspired, writer. She's a little too in love with a cliché for my tastes, and puts too many thoughts in people's heads, i.e. "Mary shivered and was terrified when she looked out over..." when there are pretty much zero primary sources to back this stuff up. The descriptions of conditions aboard the prison ships are really brutal - I might have likes a little more background and historical context to round things out. However, all that aside, Mary's story is really remarkable. One of those amazing, 18th century picaresque lives that you can't believe is not fiction. It really is a page turner and, reservations aside, I am glad that I read it.

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I really enjoyed this book. I saw that others had a lower rating of it, but I cannot figure out why unless they thought it was going to be historical fiction and filled with more 'flair'. Historically very accurate and the story alone is quite rivetting- filled with the exploits of the convicts of England sent to Australia to form a penal colony. Quite literally, from the start, Mary is intended to be a sex slave for the prisoners and crews of the ships sent to what turned out to be Botany Bay. She then escapes with her children and other male convicts only to find herself outed by her own 'husband' and recaptured.

Absolutely fascinating and honest. I really enjoyed this book. It was not a 'quick' read, but a thorough one. I recommend it for history buffs more so than those reading for the story.

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Any book written by Carolly Erickson is going to be a good book , and this small book is no exception. It is the gripping story of a young Englishwoman sent to the Australian penal colony of Botany Bay for stealing in the l700's. Of course, there are few written
accounts of this real event, but the author has used a great deal of research into this woman's brutal story and created another great read. Genny

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