The Luck of the Irish by Babette Smith

The Luck of the Irish by Babette Smith

The luck of the Irish was chronic bad luck, as their sad history attests. That's how it looked for 250 Irish convicts when their ship, the Hive, sank ignominiously off the New South Wales coast in 1835. Miraculously all survived, guided to safety by local Aboriginal people. They landed at a time when the so-called slave colony was at its height, ruled by the lash and the chain gang. Yet as Babette Smith tracked the lives of the people aboard the Hive, she discovered a very different story. Most were assigned to work on farms or in businesses, building a better life than they possibly could have experienced in Ireland. Surprisingly, in the workforce they found power, which gave rise to the characteristic Australian culture later described by DH Lawrence: 'Nobody felt better than anybody else, or higher.' The Luck of the Irish is a fascinating portrait of colonial life in the mid-19th century, which reveals how the Irish helped lay the foundations of the Australia we know today.

'Deeply researched and vividly written, it's a terrific new and up-to-date account of the convict experience, mainly from the bottom up' - Emeritus Professor Alan Atkinson FAHA, University of Sydney'Brings the convict era to life through personal stories and insightful analysis.' - Lindsay Tanner

Babette Smith is one of Australia's most respected experts on convict history and author of the bestselling Cargo of Women and Australia's Birthstain.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781742378121
ISBN 10	1742378129
Title	The Luck of the Irish
Author	Babette Smith
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Allen & Unwin
Year published	2014-06-25
Number of pages	304
Prizes	Winner of NSW Premier's History Awards Community and Regional History Prize 2015 (Australia), Short-listed for Kay Daniels Award 2016 (Australia)
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.