The Fatal Shore

The Fatal Shore

The Fatal Shore. The epic of Australia's founding by Robert Hughes is a history of the birth of Australia which came out of the suffering and brutality of England's infamous convict transportation system. It also focuses on the historical, political and sociological reasons that led to British settlement. It was first published in 1987 by Harvill Press.

The main themes of the book are:

• the historical, political and social reasons that led to transportation to Australia
• the hardships of the voyage and of the early years of the colony
• the make-up of the convict population
• the secondary detention centres such as Norfolk Island
• established colonies and the moves toward abolition

Though scholarly in the depth of its research, The Fatal Shore has been prized for the fine quality of its writing, particularly in evoking the harshness of life experienced both by convicts and would-be escapees.