For the Term of His Natural Life: Nonsuch Classics

By Marcus Clarke

Forced to conceal his identity and forego his inheritance, Rufus Dawes is unjustly implicated in his father's murder, convicted of theft and sentenced to be transported to Australia, where he encounters the brutality of the penal system. First published as a serial in the Australian Journal between 1870 and 1872 and in a revised, shortened form as a novel in 1874, For the Term of His Natural Life is an Australian classic, a tale of inhumanity and suffering during Australia's early colonial history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Oct 21, 2011
• ISBN: 9780752471709

Marcus Clarke

Marcus Clarke (1846-1881) was an Australian novelist, journalist, poet, and librarian. Born in London, Clarke was educated at Highgate School, where he was a classmate of poet and priest Gerard Manley Hopkins. Orphaned in 1862, Clarke emigrated to Australia the following year. After toiling as a bank clerk in Melbourne, he moved to a remote station along the Wimmera River and learned the art of farming. In 1867, having published several stories for the Australian Magazine, Clarke found steady work with The Argus and The Australasian back in Melbourne, gaining a reputation as a popular journalist of urban life. In 1870, after taking a trip to Tasmania to report on the status of the nation’s penal colonies, Clarke began publishing his novel For the Term of His Natural Life (1874) in serial installments in The Australian Journal. The work was quickly recognized as a classic of Australian literature, earning its author comparisons to such literary titans as Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Towards the end of his life, Clarke worked as an assistant librarian at the Melbourne Public Library—now the State Library Victoria—where many of his manuscripts, notebooks, letters, and diaries are held today.

Reviews for For the Term of His Natural Life

[therebelprince · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's fair to say that this quintessential work of 19th century Australian fiction is a bit dreary and dry to a lot of modern readers. Still, I first read this as a boy and still come back to it every now and then: a poignant melodrama that, despite its occasional silliness or longueurs, provides us with constant insight into the lives and thoughts of the first generations of white Australians. They still connected so much with the "empire", and yet already a very different society was emerging Down Under. Fantastic stuff.

[madepercy-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This classic Australian novel is based on a good deal of historical research. This particular version includes an appendix outlining the references for the historical information in each chapter. The story is rather gripping and although the coming together of the main characters at the climax is rather unlikely, it serves to render a sound plot. The conclusion wraps up a sad story with a paradisiacal ending that is satisfying if not happy. That Clarke died at age 35 serves as a reminder that such genius is routinely short-lived. Despite the numerous abridged versions and part-stories I have experienced of this novel in film and television, this is my first full reading and it was long overdue.

[figgles_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So far THRILLING! Yes and continued on as such, evocative, horrifying, sentimental, an emotional roller coaster. Ends a little improbably and abrubptly but evidently the published novel is only half of the original serialised as "His Natural Life". Contrast with English Passengers is stark - this is a far better book!

[stomps_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've read more than a few accounts of life in Australia in this time period, but Clarke's was definitely the most depressing of the lot. While it was an intriguing look at the life of an innocent man convicted of murder and sent to various convict camps & prisons in Tasmania for life, it was also difficult to read. I kept cheering for Rufus, hoping that he'd finally get his break, but each time I was let down. So yes, I found it to be a good book, but no, it is definitely not a book to read when you are feeling even the least bit down, because it will just drag you down further!

[girlfromipanema_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First review of this classic australian book on LT, and not by an Australian? Anyway, here goes:I read this book in a German translation (from an East-German publisher, complete with socialist commentary on the issue of transportation and penal colonies in a capitalist system). The translation was very good (unlike the cr*p we are served by some publishers today), although the original version I now own is much more authentic in its true 1840s style.A gripping story about one man that gets wrongly accused of murder and transported to the Antipodes. I remember watching the mini-series in the 1980s and really getting angry, and the same feeling came back while reading the story of Rufus Dawes, who always loses, despite being a good man with the best intentions. The system of penal colonies and the rules applied within the system did not allow for people to really redeem themselves. You might survive and get back home if you kept a low profile, but Dawes who unintentionally got involved in a mutiny on the way to Australia never gets a chance to prove that he is indeed innocent.Despite its age, a gripping read.

[saraann05 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It took me a little while to get into this book, but once in I was gripped. The story doesn't really get going until Rufus is on the prison ship. To me this is a story of the human spirit and how it can survive in the most desparate of situations. Rufus, is a wronged man and is constantly being crushed but he still manages to retain something of himself throughout. Also the writer must have done a tremendous amount of research, because the descriptions of the penal system in Australia make you feel like you're there, the heat, the dirt, everything.

[mbmackay · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was inspired to re-read this early Australian novel after a recent visit to Port Arthur and Macquarie Harbour. The incredible plot coincidences may have been common in that era, but they just seem odd to modern readers. I found the book started slowly, with the author struggling to get on top of the long-format writing. But it improved considerably during the book. I loved the skewering characterisation of the foppish vicar, Meekin; while the vivid description of Mr North's battle with the bottle seemed surely to be autobiographical.

[ibazel-55625 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

only the subject matter saves it from being a forgotten piece of moralistic Victoriana