THURSDAY JUNE 20 2024 | INSTORE EVENT
6.00pm for a 6.30pm start | 60 mins
Join a conversation between Rob Wills and Dr Suzanne Dixon for the launch of The Sweet Air of Freedom: Convict Frayne’s Narrative of politics, sex, religion and violence.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Dublin-born Lawrence Frayne was convicted at a young age for stealing a rope and sentenced to seven years’ transportation to New South Wales, where he repeatedly absconded from his assigned work and in consequence was transported to the new settlement at Moreton Bay. Returning to Sydney after two years he was involved in a violent robbery, sentenced for life and sent to Norfolk Island, the colony’s penal institution of last resort. There, he took part in the 1834 mutiny, which he later recounted in a frank and fascinating ‘Narrative’ of his life on the Island.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rob Wills has degrees in literature and languages from Sydney and London universities, and served as an Australian diplomat in Ghana and Denmark. His books on convict history include Alias Blind Larry: the mostly true memoir of James Laurence the singing convict, hailed as ‘an absorbing tale underpinned by vast research’ and ‘a great work of Australian theatre history.’ He edited the first modern edition of the play The Castle of Andalusia, controversially performed by convicts on Norfolk Island in 1840. Turning to historical fiction, Rob wrote Plague Searchers, set in London’s 1665 Great Plague. It has been described as a fascinating blend of fact and fiction. With The Sweet Air of Freedom Rob is back in the world of convict biography. The Sweet Air of Freedom, Alias Blind Larry and Plague Searchers are all published by Australian Scholarly.
