The bold, the bad and the slightly mad . . .
Criminality, some say, is part of Australia’s national identity, and in Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags, Jim Haynes brings us fifteen larger-than-life Aussie criminals—some of the greatest, known and unknown, ne’er do wells from our past, from colonial times to the modern era. These stories tell the truths and expose the myths about characters ranging from the most despicable examples of humanity, to some whose courage has to be admired and whose so-called ‘crimes’ were unjustly punished.
This fascinating collection of felons features amazing figures from Australia’s underbelly since 1788, such as the infamous Kate Leigh, the convict Mary Bryant, who in 1791 escaped from the Sydney penal settlement and somehow made it back to England; James Hardy Vaux, who was sent to Australia no less than three times; Henry James O’Farrell, the madman who attempted to murder Prince Alfred in Sydney in 1868; and war hero John Leak, who was repeatedly charged with insolence, disobedience and being absent without leave.
Told with Jim’s inimitable combination of history and humour, Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags is packed with murders, mystery and miscreants: true stories of true criminals from Australia’s past.
Pricing for Jim’s books posted anywhere in Australia