A House Full of Men by Pauline Marrington

Opening Sentence:

The island lay with its face to the sun, ignoring the sea's hostility.

Synopsis:

In the 1840s a man with ideas in advance of his time was sent to govern the Pacific island of Norfolk. Captain McCredie's radical views on the reform of felons were to have unexpected and far-reaching effects - particularly on the life of his much-loved daughter, Clara.

The free population spent their time picnicking and gossiping, closing their eyes to the island's darker side. The officers amused themselves with drinking and flirting and shooting the island's birds and feral cats. The women, bored and lonely, found their own outlets - with tragic results for some.

The only crime McCredie was prepared to punish with the utmost severity was that of unnatural offences' to which these womanless men were addicted. New arrivals found the Old Hands ready to fight for their favours with the ferocity of stags, addressing them by female names and endearments.

The story, a narrative of mounting tension, follows the closely interwoven lives of the exiles in this small, isolated community.

Genre:

Historical Fiction

Rating:

@@@@

Pages:

375

BCID:

xxx-6964737

ISBN:

1-86340-226-8

Year:

1991

Format:

Paperback

Comments:

At a time when Norfolk Island was one of the most feared penal settlements in Australia, one man came to govern the island with permission to test new ideas about the reform benefits of reward as opposed to punishment. Shackled by limitations imposed by authorities, this experiment was doomed to failure. The consequences to the island in general, and the Governor's family in particular, were to last a lot longer. While the author shields us from the worst of Norfolk's abuses, we are still treated to an engrossing and gripping drama set in a dark time in Australia's history. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I recommend it.