George Barrington's Voyage To Botany Bay. Retelling A Convict's Travel Narrative Of The 1790s

Cover Type: Softcover
Book Condition: Very Good
Jacket Condition: None Issued
Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
Publisher Place: New York
Publisher Year: 2001
Edition: First Edition

Description: 179 pages. Ex-Library. Book is in Very good condition throughout.

Publishers Description: In 1791 George Barrington, the notorious "Prince of Pickpockets" was transported to the penal colony of New South Wales. Barringtons voyage to Botany Bay encouraged British publishers to falsely represent him as author of the first publication attributed to a convictÆs pen, The Impartial and Circumstantial Narrative of the Present State of Botany Bay (c. 1793). This fully annotated edition identifies the works original textual sources and illuminates its complex publishing history. Shrewd publishers exploited the famous name and presented a seamless and colorful assemblage cut from official journals, revealing the extent of close contact with the Aboriginal population, the treatment of convicts and discovery of unusual plants and animals. Bearing all the hallmarks of authenticity, Barringtons account gained a singular place in popular contemporary travel and exploration literature, providing the foundation for a long series of embellished and illustrated histories. Barringtons revival as a reformed convict helped to transform his own image, while the narratives insights into the rigors of transportation, the struggle for survival and daily life in the penal colony initiated a lively convict travel literature.

ISBN: 9780718501860