Heroines of the Medieval World

Heroines of the Medieval World by Sharon Bennett Connolly is a study of some of the women who became part of history, for a variety of reasons, in a male driven world. History of the time was usually written by men for men so not a great deal is known about the lives of women during this period. However some do stand out and the parts of their stories that are known are included in this book.

Sections of the book include The medieval ideal, Heroines in religion, The medieval mistress, Scandalous heroines, The disinherited heroines, The pawns, Captive heroines, Warrior heroines, Women who ruled, True Love, Literary heroines and The survivors.

The reader can choose which section they want to read and in which order. A number of the stories in the book are of women in our family tree including Katherine Swynford, Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland, and the family of Robert I of Scotland who were imprisoned by Edward I of England. The book contains detailed notes, bibliography and index.

King and Outlaw: the real Robert the Bruce

In the 1950s a cousin of my grandmother had a genealogist in the UK investigate the story that our family, like thousands of others, had a direct link to Robert the Bruce. The story was confirmed. Many years later I decided to check the theory for myself and discovered not only family links to Scottish royalty but also to English royalty in our family tree. These discoveries make reading British history more interesting.

In King and Outlaw the author, Chris Brown, has set out to provide an account as to who Robert the Bruce - King Robert I of Scotland - really was as a person, a leader and outlaw. The main chapters are A Man Who would be King, King Robert's War and King Robert's Scotland. There is also a useful list of the people who appear in the book, a timeline, a glossary and maps of Bannockburn.

The author has used the limited available resources from medieval times to provide this historical account of troubled times within Scotland as well as between Scotland and England. At the back of the book Chris Brown dispels some of the myths about Robert the Bruce. The chapter on King Robert's Scotland provides useful information as to how most Scottish people lived their lives while instability was occurring around them.

King and Outlaw is a readable account of this important period in Scottish history as well as an account of the life of a man who was determined to claim the throne that had belonged to his ancestors.

Katherine Swynford: the story of John of Gaunt and his scandalous duchess

Katherine de Roet (1350-1403) became the third wife of John of Gaunt (1340-1399), a son of King Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. Initially Katherine had married Sir Hugh Swynford who died in 1371. She became the mistress of John of Gaunt and they had four children. When John of Gaunt's second wife died he married Katherine and insisted that their children should be recognised as part of his family. Alison Weir has proved us with a dramatic account of this period of English history.

 

In her historical study, Katherine Swynford, Alison Weir sets out to provide an account of Katherine's life from the scant records available. The interest in the life of Katherine and John of Gaunt has increased over the years especially since the publication of the novel, Katherine, by Anna Seton which was published in 1954. Detailed notes plus a select bibliography, notes, index and family trees are provided.

 

NB: This book was published in the United States with the title Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster by Alison Weir

 

Katherine Swynford - Alison Weir  

King John and the road to the Magna Carta

John (1166-1216), the youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, was not expected to become king. When King Henry II divided his lands in Britain and France among his sons, John was very young and not included. This caused him to be given the nickname, Lackland, by family members. For much of his life John lived in the shadow of other family members, especially his brother, Richard the Lionheart.

Shortly after John's brother, Richard became king, King Richard I took part in the Third Crusade (1190-1192). John eventually ruled England, especially when money was needed to pay the ransom after Richard was captured on the way home from the Crusade. Richard returned to England for a few months before spending the rest of his life in Normandy until his death in 1199. John then officially became King John of England and his family's lands in France.

John faced many challenges during his reign especially the opposition he faced from many of the barons, from the Church hierarchy, including the Pope, and from the people who objected to the increased taxes imposed to fund his attempts to win back his French lands lost in France. The French king was also threatening to invade England and there were problems in other territories, especially, Ireland, Wales and with the Scots.

Unfortunately John strongly believed in the tradition of sovereign power which he found impossible to sustain in a time of unrest and demands for change. After losing the French possessions, the subsequent First Barons' War (1215-1217) divided the country and several months later Prince Louis of France arrived on the southern coast of England and with the assistance of some of the barons took over London. Eventually King John and the barons met to create a document that became known as the Magna Carta.  

In  King John and the Road to the Magna Carta, Stephen Church provides a detailed study of the events that led to a change in the power of the monarchy plus the prelude to the eventual creation of a parliament. Detailed notes and bibliography can be found at the end of the book.

Of Angles and Eagles

In Of Angels and Eagles L F McDermott has written a historical fiction novel about the possible lives of four of her ancestors who arrived as convicts in the early days of the first settlement at Norfolk Island. From 1788 to 1807 a settlement of convicts and farmers was established on the island until the decision was made to close the settlement and relocate those living on the island back to Port Jackson or to Van Diemens Land.

As I have 4 x great grandparents who lived on Norfolk Island from 1790-1805 before resettling at Hobart Town, I was interested to read the author's imagining of the lives of her ancestors in a similar situation.

This novel is the first book in the Garth Trilogy.

The Long Farewell

The Long Farewell: the perilous voyages  of settlers under sail in the great Australian migration by Don Charlwood was originally published in 1981. The fifth edition of the book was published in 2015.

Don Charlwood has used excerpts from diaries and log books of emigrants travelling to Australia in the middle of the nineteenth century to tell the story of Australian migration. In the book he discusses the perils of such a journey, the route taken, the types of sailing ships and auxiliary steam ships that made the journeys, conditions in Britain causing people to emigrate to another country, preparation required for the trip, leaving home, accommodation on board ship, the crew, surgeons and health, messes and dining, life on board ship and the arrival. The book is well illustrated and there are detailed notes, bibliography and index. The full diaries of three travellers are also included.

This is a well written book providing valuable information for anyone researching this period of Australian history, family history or interested in the history of ships.

The restless kings

The sub-title for The Restless Kings by Nick Barratt is Henry II, his sons and the wars for the Plantagenet Crown. They were certainly members of a dysfunctional family living in what could only be described as chaotic times.

When William the Conqueror took over the governing of England he and his family were also responsible for Normandy and other parts of France. The Restless Kings examines the constant conflicts in keeping controls of these lands and acquiring additional lands through marriage. There were constant differences with kings in France with subsequent battles. There was also conflict with the church not to mention the barons vying for power.

Henry II had tried to bring in powers for the organisation of the governance of Britain with mixed results. He also tried to provide his sons with land and some power. However the four sons - Henry, Richard, Geoffrey and John - had their own visions and desires for power. Henry and Geoffrey died before their father leaving Richard as king when their father died. 

In reality however, Richard was more interested in military campaigns including involvement in one of the Crusades than ruling England. When he became king he spent three months in England including his coronation and organising finances for his crusading ventures. He later spent another week or two before returning overseas to other interests. Meanwhile the country was in financial crisis. 

When John became king he was left with disputes across the channel which ending up in England losing control of Normandy. Back in England there was rebellion from the barons and constant disputes with the church. There was growing resentment of the assumed total power of kings over their subjects and eventually the Magna Carta was drawn up shortly before John died.

During these years of chaos structures began to be implemented regarding organisation of England's finances and general laws. Unfortunately there were times when kings such as John did not behave rationally resulting in unfortunate decisions for the country. For all his faults, and there were many, John was the first of the Plantagenet kings to make ruling England his prime concern.

Reading this book in October 2023 you can't help but conclude past events involving the search for power at all costs by governments and parliamentary parties and also religious groups still exists in the world today.

Buried Treasure: What's in the English Parish Chest

Published by Unlock the Past, Buried Treasure by Paul Milner provides information about records available in some English counties that may provide information not readily available in the major genealogical databases.  

Most parishes in England have records that have been stored, often for cenuries, regarding activities and the lives of people living in the parish. Birth, death and marriage records are normally readily available however other records kept by the Church may also be useful for some family history enquiries.

Records can include Settlement and Removal records relating to people who have become a recipient of assistance from the Poor Laws and Acts of Settlement (usually relating to a person's place of birth); Bastardy records relating to illegitimate births; Apprenticeship records - those apprenticed by consent and those bound out by parish authorities; Vestry Minutes; Churchwarden Accounts and Churchwarden Expenses; Lists of Jurors; Constable Accounts - the constable was responsible for maintaining law and order in the parish; Militia Records; Confirmation Lists; Church restoration list of donors.

The author provides a guide for locating parish chest records as well as a list of 10 things to remember when using parish chest records. There is also a bibliography and index.

Down and Out in Scotland

Down and Out in Scotland: researching ancestral crisis is a genealogical guide written by Chris Paton. We are used to using birth, marriage and death records to explore the history of previous generations of our family but other records can also provide valuable information. In this guide published by Unlock the Past, the author introduces us to records that provide information about people in the past encountering hard times.

Chapters include:

• Family events and relationships - illegitimacy; foundlings, orphans and adoption; marriage, bigamy and divorce; homosexuality; and death
• Law and order - the Kirk; the Crown; franchise and burgh courts; criminal prosecution; murder; additional courts; police and prison records; transpotation; execution
• Poverty - the Old Poor Law; the New Poor Law; the records
• Debt - put to the horn; debts upon inheritance; cessio bonorum and sequestration
• Medical problems - hospital records; asylums; suicide; accidents
• Them and Us - the Covenanters and the Killing Time; the Jacobite rebellion; the expulsion of the Gael, the vote
  

Other books in this series by Chris Paton include Discover Scottish church records, Discover Scottish land records, Discover Scottish civil registration records and British and Irish newspapers.

Searching for Charlotte

In Searching for Charlotte, two sisters, authors Kate Forsyth and Belinda Murrell, set out to find the true story about their great x4 grandmother, Charlotte Waring Atkinson, who travelled to Australia in 1826 to work as a governess for members of the Macarthur family. The authors knew of many family stories about Charlotte and her husband, James Atkinson, but what was fact and what was fiction?  But what were the circumstances that brought Charlotte to New South Wales, why did the daughter of an apparently well off family need to work as a governess and what were the connections between the names of houses in New South Wales with locations in England? They also knew that Charlotte was the author of the first Australian children's book, A Mother's Offering to her Children - a compilation of lessons for children told in a fictional setting.

For part of the research Kate and Belinda visited family related locations in New South Wales and in England. On the trip to England they took their two daughters with them. When in England they visited villages, looked for possible family properties, explored churches and graveyards and generally looked for clues as to what life may have been like for their ancestors. 

The sisters arrived in England in June expecting the weather to be warm but it was often cold and wet. We have made similar expeditions to England in August and walked in the rain looking for family gravestones or buildings so I can sympathise. Still it is all part of the adventure of family history research and as the authors record, there is a special feeling locating a place where ancestors lived, worked or walked.

The book provides a useful guide for those researching their own family stories. It also provides a picture of what it was like living in Kent in the early nineteenth century. Comparisons are sometimes made to the works of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. Life in colonial New South Wales is also described -colonists attitudes to aboriginies, free seelers and convicts, bushrangers and women living in a male dominant society. 

The authors contribute different chapters to the book and repetition in the telling of the story does occur. However Searching for Charlotte generally provdes a readable account of tackling a project to reveal the truth about a family story.

Photos, detailed notes, a bibliography and an index provide clues to additional information.

These are the names: Jewish Lives in Australia 1788-1850

In 1800 Uriah Moses arrived in Sydney aboard the convict ship, Royal Admiral (2) - one of my twelve convict ancestors to arrive in Australia by 1808. However what makes Uriah different from my other convicts is that he was a Jew, definitely a member of a minority group at the time. But Uriah was not alone as shown by John S Levi in the second edition of this book outlining what is known of the lives of approximately 1,600 Jews who came to Australia between 1788 and 1850.

In 921 pages biographies of the first Jews in this country are compiled from a range of existing records. The biography for Uriah, for example, provides a brief summary of where he was born, his dates of birth and death, the ship that brought him to Australia, when and where he was sentenced, marital status on arrival in Australia and the number of children he eventually had. These notes are followed by a summary of his crime, trial and sentence. The rest of the biography details Uriah's life in New South Wales including life in the Hawkesbury region where he spent the rest of his life. Information is taken from records kept of the lives of convicts (and former convicts) in the colony as well as from newspapers, post office directories and records of religious institutions (synagogue and church). From time to time in the biography there are references to other Jews known by Uriah, including two who signed the copy of his will. Reading the biographies of these people provided a little additional information about Uriah's life.

The introduction to These are the Names provides a brief outline of the history of the survival of Jews in Europe for hundreds of years before some migrated to England, life of Jews in England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries plus an informative summary on the life of Jews in the colonies. The information in this book therefore provides useful information leading to a better understanding of the lives of people in the Jewish community who, for various reasons, ended up living in Australia.

The Anarchy: the relentless rise of the East India Company

The beginnings of the East India Company can be traced back to Elizabethan times in 1599. This was a time of exploration; the quest for new lands and trade routes. Competition for supremacy between European countries, particularly England, France, Spain and the Netherlands was strong.  Initially the British government encouraged companies such as the East India Company to undertake new trading ventures but the government never envisaged that the company's interests would encompass more than trade.

This study by William Dalrymple primarily looks at the rapid growth and power of the company particularly between 1765 and 1803. In 1765 the East India Company defeated the Mughal emperor and then proceeded, using their own army, to aquire additional territory. As the power of the company expanded the British government tried to restrict the power of the company and take control of India as a colony.

Although the East India Company continued to grow during the first part of the nineteenth century it became more closely overseen by the British government. There was a rebellion in the ranks of the East India Company Army in 1857 followed by the Indian Mutiny. This resulted in the end of the role of the East India Company in India though India remained under the control of the British government until gaining independence in 1947.

William Dalrymple provides a detailed study of events during this time and looks at the role of the main players from Britain including Robert Clive, Warren Hastings, Charles Cornwallis and Richard Colley Wellesley plus French leaders in India and leaders of a number of Indian states.

I was particularly interested to look at this book as I had family members working in India as merchants, soldiers in the East India Company army then later the British army and the civil service during the nineteenth century. This book will be a useful source for background information when researching this branch of the family tree.

The book has detailed notes, an extensive bibliography and index for further research.

James Hardy Vaux's 1819 dictionary of criminal slang

The full title of this work is James Hardy Vaux's 1819 dictionary of criminal slang and other impolite terms as used by the Convicts of the British Colonies of Australia with additional true stories, remarkable facts & illustrations by Simon Barnard. It is two hundred years since the first publication of Vaux's work and with twelve convicts in the family prior to 1808 this was an obvious work to borrow from the library.

The alphabetical listing of terms provides a short explanation of the term.
For example: Kelp: a hat; to kelp a person, is to remove your hat to him.

A more detailed explanation to the use of the term with examples of use and how it came to be is usally then provided by Simon Barnard.
For example: Kelp is a pun on cap. According to an eighteenth-century treatise on thieving, 'pinchers' bumped into their victims and picked their 'cly' when they raised their hands to secure their 'kelp'. etc (p129)

A cly is a pocket.

Pinch: To purloin small articles of value in the shops of jewellers, etc; while pretending to purchase or bespeak some trinket. This game is called the pinch - I pinch'd him for a fawney, signifies I purloined a ring from him; Did you pinch any thing from that crib? Did you succeed in secreting any thing in that shop? This game is a branch of shoplifting; but when the hoist is spoken of, it commonly applies to stealing articles of a larger, though less valuable, kind, as pieces of muslin, or silk handkerchiefs, printed cotton, etc. See: Hoist (p185)

Pinch-Gloak: A man who works on the pinch

Many hours could be spent following these terms.

'Is that bum trap missing a flesh-bag?' article in The Guardian 20 August 2019

King and emperor

King and emperor: a new life of Charlemagne is a detailed study by Janet L Nelson of the life of Charles the Great, King of the Franks. In this scholarly study of the life of Charlemagne, the author attempts to dispel many of the myths that surround his life and investigates the available resources to explore the life of a man who made and ruled a great European empire. After Charles' death this empire was dismantled by his sons.

Living from 748-814 during the period referred to as the Dark Ages many of the records that may have existed about the life of Charlemagne and his empire have disappeared. However the author has made a detailed study of the records that she has been able to locate and quotes from many of the documents to help record her story.  Each chapter consists of quoted material from documents followed by the author's account. The Carolingian Empire or Holy Roman Empire covered most of Western and Central Europe. Throughout his reign there were many battles and campaigns to expand and protect the borders.

This story of Charlemagne's life consists of 493 pages followed by another 173 pages of notes, bibliography and index. Consequently this book would be an essential guide for anyone researching this period of European history. This is a book that I will need to refer to again when time permits.

England's Queens: the biography

Elizabeth Norton provides a chronological record of the queens of England from Boudicia to Elizabeth II.

The titles of the chapters are: Early and Mythical Queens; Anglo-Saxon Queens; Norman Queens; Plantagenet Queens; Lancastrian Queens; Yorkist Queens; Six Wives of Henry VII; Tudor Queen Regnants; House of Stuart; Hanoverian Queens; From the House of Hanover to the House of Windsor. The book is illustrated, has a collection of genealogical tables plus a list of sources and bibliography.

As many of their husbands spent time fighting wars for long periods of time it was often left to the early queens to look after their husband's interests while they were away, often giving the women considerable power. This book provides an interesting account of the history of England through the lives of women who were queens.

Botany Bay

Subtitle: The story of the convicts transported from Ireland to Australia 1791-1853. Author is Con Costello.

Two hundred and twelve convict ships sailed from Dublin or Cork to Australia between 1791 and 1853. Forty-five thousand Irish men and women were transported on these ships. One of these convicts was my great (x3) grandfather, John Pendergast (1769-1833) who was transported to Sydney Cove aboard The Minerva arriving in January 1800. John had been involved, possibly on the fringe, of the the Rising of the United Irishmen in May 1798.

Con Costello writes about the transportation of these convicts, social and political conditions at the time leading to imprisonment and eventual transportation to another country plus conditions encountered by Irish Catholics, particularly in the early years of the settlement.

Chapters include: First sailings, 1791-1797; United Irishmen, 1798-1799; Priests and rebels, 1800; A sherrif and a general, 1801-1802; Dr Trevor and Michael Dwyer, 1803-1812; Preparations and passage, 1813-1817; Gaelic speaking Rockchoppers, 1818-1820; Defenders and Whiteboys, 1821-1824; Bushrangers and Balladeers, 1825-1832; Nuns and other females, 1833-1838; The Famine victims, 1839-1848; Young Irelanders, 1849-1850; Fenians, 1851-1876.

The book therefore looks not just at political and social unrest in Ireland but also at the reception of these convicts in Australia. In some chapters the author concentrates on the experiences of one or two transportees while others are more general in nature.

The book does not have an index but there is a bibliography. There are also some illustrations from publications of the time.

The Quakers: a very short introduction

When researching family history recently I discovered that one line of my family became Quakers in northern England at the commencement of the Quaker movement in the seventeenth century. Consequently I looked for some books that may provide background information and also found a FutureLearn online course on the establishment of the Quaker movement in England - Radical Spirituality: the early history of the Quakers - which I have just completed.

The author of the book, The Quakers: a very short introduction is Pink Dandelion (a name he has chosen though during the online course he included Ben (his given name) in this name). As the title suggests this is a small book but it does provide a good introduction to the Quaker movement. The book is only 143 pages including index, a glossary of terms, references and further reading list. Topics include who are the Quakers, the history of Quakerism, worship, belief theology and language, ecumenism and the future of Quakerism.

George Fox was the founder of the Quaker movement in 1652 and the original stronghold for the new faith was northern England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire, where my ancestors lived. Living in small isolated communities many of the people in this area, including some members of my family, welcomed this new form of worship focusing on the individual's direct contact with God, with the emphasis on the 'inner voice', without the need for priests and sermons. Initially the Quakers met in the homes of fellow Quakers and later established meeting houses for worship.  Initially many of the Quakers were persecuted included being fined and or gaoled for not observing customs of the time, especially in relation to the established church. Life improved for the Quakers after the passing of the Toleration Act in 1689 allowing freedom of worship for nonconformists.

Tracing your Nonconformist Ancestors: a guide for family and local historians by Stuart A Raymond includes a chapter on the Quakers as well sections on Presbyterians and Unitarians, Congregationalists / Independents, Baptists, Methodists, Calvinistic Methodists, Inghamites, Moravians and the Salvation Army. Other denominations and sects included are Catholic Apostolic Church, Christadelpians, Christian Brethren, Churches of Christ, Mormons, Church of the Nazarene, Family of Love, Glasites, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muggletonians, Pentecostalists, Sandemanians, Seventh Day Adventists and Swedenborgians. It also includes a short history of nonconformity plus sources for nonconformity.

The chapter on the Quakers provides a brief introduction followed by suggestions of resources useful when researching family members who were Quakers.

Life in a Medieval Castle

Joseph and Frances Gies originally published this book in 1974. There have been several reprints including this one in 2015. The authors provide a comprehensive and interesting account of what it was like to live in a medieval castle, particularly in the thirteenth century.

Chapters in the castle include information on the advent of building castles in England (especially from Norman times), the castle as a house, the role of the Lord and the Lady of the castle, the running of the household, an account of daily life, importance of hunting in castle life, the life of villagers, making of knights, the castle during battles, a typical year in castle life and the decline of castles in England.

The emphasis in the book is on English castles in the thirteenth century, especially Chepstow Castle, but the authors stress that castles were already an important part of life in European countries prior to the Norman invasion of England. There is a geographical guide to some European castles at the end of the book as well as a detailed bibliography. Throughout the book there are many photographs of castles and castle life but these photos are very dark and unclear compared to those that would be in a book published today. For those interested in the illustrations, clearer photos of the castles would probably be available online.

This is a detailed, useful and readable book on castle life in medieval times. The authors have also written books, Life in a Medieval City and Life in a Medieval Village.

London in many books

For family history research I have been looking at books with references to London, particularly in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and discovered a selection of books on the history of London in the local public library. Some titles were more relevant to my research than others but it was interesting to see the range of material available.

London in the Eighteenth Century: a great and monstrous thing by Jerry White published by The Bodley Head in 2012. This book looks at the growth of London during the eighteenth century with the first section looking at architectural advancement during that period. There are also sections on People, Work, Culture and Power including a section on prisons and punishment. There are several sets of illustrations inserted throughout the book, detailed notes, a large bibliography and index. This is a useful social history of eighteenth century England providing useful background information for those researching the city in which some of our convict ancestors lived.

The following two books that are good to  browse through.
London: the illustrated history by Cathy Ross and John Clark was first published by Penguin Books in 2008.  This history of the city discusses London through the ages illustrated with maps plus  photos of items from the Museum of London collection. There is a useful section of further reading plus an index.

Another book using the Museum of London collection is London: the story of a great city by Jerry White.The second edition of this book was published by Andre Deutsch in 2014. In this book the history of the city is shown by topic rather than chronologically. Some of the topics include London's River, Making Money, A City of Shopkeepers, Meat and Drink, Faiths of London plus Police, Prisons and Punishment.The book is lavishly illustrated and has an index plus a small section of further reading.

The City of London by Brian Girling, published by The History Press initially in 1998 and again in 2009. It is part of Briain in Old Photographs series. Most of the photographs used to illustrate the book were taken in the early 1900s and were often from postcards. Topics in the book include Around Fleet Street, the River Thames, City Life, St Paul's Cathedral and Churches, City Celebrations and City Transport. Many of the photos show buildings built at the end of the eighteenth century and nineteenth century.

Lost London by Richard Guard is a guide to some of the lost buildings and landmarks in the city.It was published by Michael O'Mara Books in 2012. The main landmarks discussed are arranged alphabetically and the index also allows the reader to locate further information if they are mentioned in other articles.

Lindsey German and John Rees have written A People's History of London published by Verso in 2012. The book investigates how the power of ordinary people through strikes, rebellions and demonstrations has shaped the history of the city through the ages. The book has a bibliography and index.

London: a social and cultural history, 1550 - 1750 by Robert Bucholz and Joseph P Ward was published by Cambridge University Press in 2012. It is a study of the development of London as a city during two hundred years. There are plates with illustrations throughout the book as well as detailed notes, a bibliography and index.

The third edition of The London Encyclopaedia was published in 2008. The 6000 alphabetically arranged articles cover all aspects of the history and life of the city. The authors are Ben Weinreb, Christopher Hibbert, Julia Keay and John Keay. This is a good reference book for information about the city. At the end of the book is an index to people mentioned in the volume.

Closing Hell's Gates: the death of a convict station

In December 1815 James Kelly named a small island in Macquarie Harbour Sarah Island after Sarah Birch, the wife of the sponsor of his exploritory exhibition, Thomas William Birch. For eleven years between 1822 and 1833 Sarah Island, also known at the time as Settlement Island, was used as a convict station. The penal settlement was situated in a remote environment with no nearby habitation. To get to the island the boats had to travel through the narrow entrance to Macquarie Harbour referred to as 'the Gates of Hell'. The island was windswept especially when partly cleared to construct building for the settlement. Hamish Maxwell-Stewart has written a detailed study of the establishement of the penal settlment on Sarah Island and the challenges faced by the convicts unfortunate enought to be sent there.                                            

Another book on this area has been written by Kerry Pink. Through Hell's Gates: a history of Strahan and Macquarie Harbour provides a brief history of the area from the exploration and discovery of Macquarie Harbour in 1815 to more recent times. The first European settlers in the area were there to gather Huon pine growing on the shores of the Harbour. Thomas William Birch and James Kelly had exclusive licence for cutting the timber for twelve months before others timber cutters were allowed into the area. The penal settlement is covered in one section of the book. In later years there was a mineral boom in the area, initially gold mining followed by the mining of copper from the Mt Lyell Mine. A railway from Strahan connnected to the mine. The 1980s saw environmental movements to save the Franklin River. The area is now a tourist area.