The Wreck by Meg Keneally

 This story is “loosely inspired by historical figures,” including Mary Reibey who was transported to Australia as a convict, later becoming legendary as a successful businesswoman. “At one point she held 405 hectares of land and was one of the richest people in the colony.”

Also “some parts of the plot share contours with historical events.” This story brings a time period when a few were born into privileged life; the rest lived and worked in deplorable conditions. When the poor feeling oppressed gathered peacefully at St Peter’s Field demanding the reform of parliamentary representation, it ended in the Peterloo Massacre. With no response from the government, some extremist attempted to murder all the British cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister. The Cato Street Conspiracy ended in some being hanged and some sent to the penal colony in Australia. While on the way to Australia, the Dunbar ship was pushed into the cliffs near the entrance to Sydney Harbor, resulting in the Wreck of the Dunbar.

Manchester, England, 1819. Sarah with her mother attend an assembly. They fight for the right treatment of the workers at cotton mills. The public meeting at St Peter’s Field turns deadly.

Sarah and her brother follow a radical leader to London who exposes them to the works of Thomas Spence and Thomas Paine’s “Rights of Man.” A radical idea goes the wrong way and Sarah finds herself bound for Australia.

“There are opportunities in the colony, yes, but also peril and deprivation.” In Sydney, Sarah finds herself in not a much better situation than in England. She works at a boarding house in exchange for food and a roof over her head. No money whatsoever. The control of those with the money continues. But then she learns that the ones with the money in the new world weren’t necessarily born into that money like in the old world. And her eyes open for new opportunities.

The story is captivating from the start to the end and presented with beautiful prose.

I enjoyed the heroine who goes through different phases in her life. She is already a rebel at young age, who sees unfair treatment of workers at cotton mills. She becomes a radical as the poor’s pleas fall on deaf ears. The poor didn’t seek charity, but honest work. When there is no response from the government, then people revolt. In the new world, she sees the same oppression and later a chance for freedom she’s been fighting for. Her eyes open to different possibilities, instead of wasting her time on hushed conversations.

The time period is interestingly explored through historical events. The situation of the poor and their justification for the fight is well-depicted. The new world is interesting in its trials and possibilities. And I just wished a tiny bit more of that was involved in this story. The life in the new colony is fascinating and would love a bit more of that.

P.S. Also by this author highly recommend Fled. And if you read and enjoyed The Exile by Christina Baker Kline, you might enjoy this book as well.

Release date: 1 September 2020

Publisher: Echo Publishing