The main protagonist is Richard Devine, the only son and heir of a filthy rich ship builder. It is also a grim reminder of man’s inhumanity to man, no matter the circumstances. Combining several known events of brutality into one novel and as a derring-do adventure that combines everything from murder and criminal activity, identity theft and sheer brutality, it makes for a bit of a page turner. At the time of writing, the dark history of convict settlement in Van Diemen's land was still fresh in the memory of the public hence as a reader of colonial history, I now know its place in the cannon and the effect it has had on a reading public.Ĭlarke wrote in what can be called nowadays a mashup. This was the first novel of Australian convict literature of note, and also later was described as the first of what has become known as Tasmanian Gothic. Be that as it may, we do tend towards a different outlook into older age as to how we approach and read. Certainly, the coincidences and luck in the plot would have driven me to severe criticism back in my youth. The intro is worth a read just to discover Mr Smith writing about modern Australia in that “Airlines cross Australia in one day……” and that “……….Only five days flying brings us back to Europe…” There have been marked improvements in travel to and from this island continent in the last decade!įirst let’s just say that I am glad that I did not have to read this at school, as has been said elsewhere literature of the Victorian age can be wasted on youthful readers.
My copy read is the Penguin edition 2009 with an Introduction by George Ian Smith. For the Term of His Natural Life was written between 18 and was serialised at the time in The Australian Journal that was also edited by the book's author Marcus Clarke.
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