An irresistible feast of history, adventure, intrigue and tragedy. Epic yet tender. Authentic yet inspired * Clare Wright *
I was utterly absorbed - swept up and transported into convict life. Jenny Trelawney's struggles - her intelligence, courage and grit - as well as Meg Keneally's beautifully understated writing, kept me up past bedtime night after night * Jane Rawson *
A real page turner, this breathtaking yarn will keep you on the edge of your seat * Dr Jonathan King, author of Mary Bryant - Her Life and Escape from Botany Bay *
The novel, based on the real-life exploits of Mary Bryant, provides a colourfully detailed showcase for the limits of courage, daring and human resourcefulness. Keneally's Jenny is a powerful personality and her life is full of incident and tragedy - which was true of the woman on whom she is based * Daily Mail *
Moving and heartbreaking, the rhythm of the sea runs through every page of this dramatic, evocative tale * Woman's Weekly *
In Jenny Trelawney, the author has created a strong, resourceful and tenacious character who uses every means at her disposal to survive, and it's a hard book to stop reading. Keneally sets up a momentum that's maintained through every stage of her journey [and] each location is vividly realised * The Herald *
In Jenny Trelawney, the author has created a strong, resourceful and tenacious character who uses every means at her disposal to survive, and it's a hard book to stop reading. Keneally sets up a momentum that's maintained through every stage of her journey - from a forest in Cornwall to her stint in a prison hulk, from giving birth on the long voyage to Australia to the privations of the colony itself - each location vividly realised * Herald, Scotland *
If this is the standard Keneally is setting, it will be no surprise to see that famed surname etched anew on the national's literary awards * The Saturday Paper *
Clever and engaging * Good Reading *
Fled if one of the most satisfying historical fiction accounts in recent memory * The Saturday Paper *
Keneally's debut novel is a tragedy of epic proportions....It is a testament to Keneally's dexterity that she is able to bring Jenny into focus as both a historical figure and a stand-in for others like her without losing the thread of her narrative. The reader can't help feeling implicated as a spectator of unimaginable hardship. * The New York Times *
