Grim Crims and Convicts : 1788-1820

It was an incredible idea-to found a colony of convicts eight months' sail away from Great Britain. In a land with no cities, no farms, no rich spices. Just savages in huts. The Dutch, the French and the Portuguese had known about this place for two hundred years-and had turned their noses up at it. The Chinese had known about it for even longer and they weren't interested either. No country had ever thought to send a colony so far away. Why on earth would you bother?

About The Author

Jacqueline Anne "Jackie" French (born 29 November 1953) is an award-winning Australian author. She writes mainly children's fiction and books on gardening.

Jackie French was born in Sydney and grew up in Brisbane, but moved to the bush in her early twenties. She is a keen gardener and appeared on the TV series Burke's Backyard. She has written well over a hundred books. Jackie lives in New South Wales, near the small town of Braidwood at Araluen. She began writing when she was 30, in a desperate attempt to get enough money together to register her car. At the time, she was living in a tin shed with a black snake named Gladys and a wombat named Smudge. A hundred and thirty-two books later, she is still writing and is often dubbed Australia's most popular children's writer. Jackie also appears regularly on radio and television.