Despite its promise, the book mixes well-researched facts with fiction.
I had great expectation for this book from the cover blurb: ‘The extraordinary true story of the First Fleet girl who became the First Lady of the colony’. Sadly, the claim that this is a true story does not hold up. I should probably have taken more notice of the cover picture – an image of a young woman whose gown is billowing in the wind, gazing over an historical image of Sydney Town as this more accurately reflects the imaginary history and thoughts of Esther, dreamed up by Jessica North.
Esther Abrahams was just 16 when she was sentenced to transportation for stealing some lace. After a harrowing 8 month voyage on the First Fleet to Australia, she arrived in a strange place at the end of the world with a young baby. Many of the female convicts formed liaisons with the soldiers and sailors and she became the lover of Marine Lieutenant George Johnston.
Life in the colony was harsh, brutal and for many years the settlers were close to starvation. As the settlement grew and prospered so did their relationship. It lasted many years and they eventually married and had a total of 8 children. As Johnston moved up through the ranks, he and Esther gained status in the colony and through land grants established a thriving sheep farm. Later Johnston also became involved in a trading company which further contributed to their income and status.
When William Bligh was Governor of New South Wales, Johnston was drawn ever deeper into the politics of the colony as Bligh was seen as exceeding his authority and making arbitrary rulings. The final straw was when Bligh charged 6 members of the Corps with treason. Johnston was reluctantly convinced the only way to avoid bloodshed was to arrest the Governor and take over the position himself. And so Esther became the First Lady of New South Wales.
Author, North, had spent a decade involved in serious research into the life story of a young convict who, through an incredible set of circumstances, became the wife of the Governor of the colony of New South Wales. I cannot understand why she felt the need to add fictionalised events to an already fascinating story. It is a matter of record that Abrahams’ daughter, Rosanna, was born in Newgate Prison, so why do we need to read the author’s fictionalised account of another convict offering her camomile tea and cooing over the new baby? This saccharin account is surely far from the reality of giving birth in a prison.
North interweaves carefully-researched historical facts recorded in contemporary official records, diaries and journals with what she chooses to call suggestions or supposed events in the life of Esther. While other reviewers may have seen this blend in a positive light – fleshing out the, at times, bare facts of her life – I have to disagree.
My overriding criticism of North’s book is that the opportunity to write an accurate historical account of what really was an extraordinary life, has been missed. There are many volumes of Australian history written in the ‘great men of history’ style but it is only in fairly recent times that women, without whom the early settlements would have collapsed, have had much recognition. This would have been a far more powerful testament to the vital role of women in early Australian settlement if only it had all been a true story.
Reviewed by Jan Kershaw
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