Customer Reviews

The Tin Ticket: The Heroic Journey of Australia's Convict Women

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before reading this book, I knew little about Australia's convict past. I had a vague notion that a lot of criminals from England and Ireland travelled to Australia to settle the area under British rule... ergo, the rowdy, "cowboy" spirit of the Australian people. I had no idea that, between the mid 1700's though the mid 1800's, convicts were forcibly exiled to Australia for crimes as minor pilfering stockings or a loaf of bread... or that women and children were among those torn from family and friends and shipped to an untamed land on the other side of the world. Though their sentences ranged from 7 to 10 years (during which they were indentured servants under rigorous government rule), few had the means to return home once they earned their freedom. Thus, in most cases, their exile lasted a lifetime.

What makes Ms. Swiss's book truly remarkable is that, woven into the layers of fascinating, meticulously-researched facts about this dark chapter in history, are the personal stories of 3 women who had the grit, heart, and determination to survive the 4-month voyage across the seas, as well as their long sentences in Australia. Two were street urchins from Glasgow who stole here and there to get by; they were barely out of childhood when they were sentenced and shipped to a government-run female factory in Tasmania. The third was a widow and mother of 4 who stole some spoons and a bread basket after falling on hard times. Their stories are as engrossing; their characters are fully realized. I found that I could not put the book down... I had to learn what was in store for them as they struggled to survive their ordeals and forge their way to freedom.

I came away from the book all the wiser about the true circumstances of the convict maids... and very grateful for the opportunity to get to know the courageous, spirited women who, despite being dealt a cruel hand in life, managed to live productive, happy lives in their new homeland.

Touching, engaging and overwhelming are the first three words that come to mind when trying to explain my feelings on this book. It's a remarkable true story that will have you crying and later on jumping for joy. The Tin Ticket taught me a lot about what it means to be a woman and also, how you have to fight for yourself because if you don't, no one else will. It's amazing and should be added to the reading lists at high school's everywhere. Five stars!

I love this book! Great writing, draws you in from the first page. I really enjoyed the incredible detail woven into the story of these remarkable survivors and was completely transported by this epic and spellbinding saga. Kudos to Swiss, whose extensive research brings sharp focus and vivid color to this long-suppressed and shocking piece of history. A wonderful and inspirational journey to a fascinating time and place, told in a fluid and riveting style. Totally engrossing, at points heartbreaking to the point of tears, at others I found myself laughing out loud. A thoroughly satisfying read. Highly recommended!

Too often the historical contributions and achievements of women have been overlooked, or at best given 'token' status in textbooks. Deborah Swiss has done something incredible with The Tin Ticket. Here she uncovers the stories of four women who were victimized by the British crown, and transported to Van Dieman's land for crimes bred by abject poverty, in order to assist in the 'taming' of her Majesty's colonial outliers between 1788 and 1868. Amazingly, these women, despite the desperation of their forced circumstances, managed to not only survive, but thrive, and Deborah Swiss traces their contributions down to their great-great-great-etc. grandchildren. The Tin Ticket is meticulously researched and lushly written; it's a necessary addition to historical canon, and a great tribute to the founding mothers of Australia.

This is an incredible book. I was amazed at the details found on the women's lives that this book focuses on. I was shocked at the journey these women had to go through as they were just trying to survive and were punished for it. I am still thinking about this book weeks after I finished it and thats how I know that this is one of the most important pieces I have ever read.

The Tin Ticket is a GREAT book club read! Swiss has a wonderful way of weaving historical events of the day with her compelling, sometimes haunting, story of these convict women. The Tin Ticket opened my eyes to a growing early 19th century British Empire, warts and all, and a history I was unfamiliar with. Thank God for women like Elizabeth Fry and her compatriots who stood firm against the unjust and inhumane treatment of prisoners and the social reforms that were put in motion. A must read!!!

I have great respect for the Quakers after reading "The Tin Ticket." As a reformer Mrs. Fry wouldn't bow to the queen or anybody else. Her calling in life was to help the forgotten. Their belief is that nobody is better than anybody else. There are no saints. Her first visit to Newgate Prison, written in exquisite detail, is a metaphor for life. Just keep moving forward to achieve your goal of helping people no matter what's underfoot. It tells a historical story in rich detail, of how inhumane people can be to one another and another story of kindness, survival & friendship. It should be required reading for all. I felt rooted to the story, could have been me or my kin. The fact that their descendants are still making bonnets for the 900 children as a travelling memorial shows what an important story it still is today. The paperback will be in everybody's stocking this year! Can't wait for the movie!

I was drawn to this book by a desire to learn how Australia became populated by convicts. In reading The Tin Ticket, I found out more than I bargained for. Although I knew that England had a long history of colonizing countries with slaves and convicts, I was surprised to learn to what degree this was true.

"Under the Transportation Act, 162,000 women, men, and children were exiled to Australia between 1788 and 1868," according to The Tin Ticket. Twenty-five thousand were transported to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). Of this number less than two percent had committed violent crimes and sixty-five percent were first offenders. If the convicts, many of them women and children, survived the months-long dangerous journey by sea they still had to satisfy years of imprisonment, punishment and slavery in their new home. Life was horrible and punishment harsh.

The Tin Ticket chronicles the experiences some of those women and children transported to Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania. Author and historian Debra Swiss painstakingly pieces together the stories of Agnes McMillan and Janet Houston through meticulous documented research and written records (she also provides pictures). The reader first meets these heroic women when they are destitute homeless young girls in living the slums of Glasgow and follows them into the Newgate Prison, then across the ocean to the brutal imprisonment and slavery in Van Diemen's Land Tasmania and freedom. Swiss treats each of the women and their contemporaries with respect and compassion as she chronicles their histories and their brutal choices. The story isn't pretty and the ugliness of it will never go away, but the stories of these transported women, who were "once referred to as the 'convict stain'," need to be told and heard.

by Judy Miller
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

I really really loved this book! The descriptions of the conditions that the characters lived in broke my heart - not sure how these women could have survived even a few days in those conditions let alone years and years. But, they were tough women with unstoppable spirits and I especially liked the line in the book that reads "Ludlow consistently practiced the 11th commandment - Do what ever it takes to provide for your child."

The book really makes you think and see what was really going on with the 'classes' in England/Scotland/Ireland between 1800-1875, and how far we have come in the past 150-200 years, in prison reform, medicine, and women's rights - heck, human rights! The descriptions of the polluted conditions in London, along with the beauty, yet almost uninhabitable terrain of Tasmania and Melbourne were so vivid and really placed you right in the heart of those times. And the stories of the women's journies across the sea from England to Tasmania - it was amazing anyone was able to walk off those ships after 4 months being kept in the bowels of the ships. The story does show, and it's so hard to believe that people could be so cold, manipulative, hard-hearted and dismissive of other humans just because they were poor. But the best part is that the story shows how no matter how horrific the conditions you place people in, you can't break their spirit or their pride and the desire to survive is overwhelming.

This is a great great book if you want an inside view of what took place during that timeframe - I feel like I learned a lot and have a new appreciation of Australia, Tasmania and how it was 'really' settled!

This is an extremely well researched, well written, and thought provoking narrative. One shudders at the conditions that prevailed in women's prisons during the time frame of this story and also makes one marvel that anyone could be strong enough to withstand the ordeal of first being imprisoned and then shipped off to a country halfway across the world to continue that prison sentence. Tales of several specific women propel the reader through an engaging and unusual look at a slice of history that has largely been neglected.