Vandemonians
The Repressed History of Colonial Victoria
Janet McCalman
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As an MUP member you get 40% off the RRP of all print books.
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As an MUP member you get 100% off the RRP of all print books.
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Member discount
As an MUP member you get 25% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 25% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 40% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 10% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 35% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 40% off the RRP of all print books.
Other formats available
- Paperback
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Imprint
Vandemonians
The Repressed History of Colonial Victoria
Janet McCalman
From award-winning author and historian Janet McCalman, the engrossing tale of Tasmanian convict settlers in colonial Victoria
It was meant to be 'Victoria the Free', uncontaminated by the Convict Stain. Yet they came in their tens of thousands as soon as they were cut free or able to bolt. More than half of all those transported to Van Diemen's Land as convicts would one day settle or spend time in Victoria. There they were demonised as Vandemonians
Some could never go straight; a few were the luckiest of gold diggers; a handful founded families with distinguished descendants. Most slipped into obscurity.
Burdened by their pasts and their shame, their lives as free men and women, even within their own families, were forever shrouded in secrets and lies.
Only now are we discovering their stories and Victoria's place in the nation's convict history. As Janet McCalman examines this transported population of men, women and children from the cradle to the grave, we can see them not just as…
It was meant to be 'Victoria the Free', uncontaminated by the Convict Stain. Yet they came in their tens of thousands as soon as they were cut free or able to bolt. More than half of all those transported to Van Diemen's Land as convicts would one day settle or spend time in Victoria. There they were demonised as Vandemonians.
Some could never go straight; a few were the luckiest of gold diggers; a handful founded families with distinguished descendants. Most slipped into obscurity.
Burdened by their pasts and their shame, their lives as free men and women, even within their own families, were forever shrouded in secrets and lies.
Only now are we discovering their stories and Victoria's place in the nation's convict history. As Janet McCalman examines this transported population of men, women and children from the cradle to the grave, we can see them not just as prisoners, but as children, young people, workers, mothers, fathers and colonists.
From the author of Struggletown and Journeyings, this rich study of the lives of unwilling colonisers is an original and confronting new history of our convict past-the repressed history of colonial Victoria.
2022 Ernest Scott Prize Co-Winner
“
Vandemonians offers an important and eloquent accompaniment to the vast and valuable data gathered in the significant ‘Founders and Survivors Ships Project Data’. The book uses both prosopography and a ‘cradle to grave’ approach to illuminate the untold history of the thousands of Vandemonians who went to early Port Phillip. The life course writing not only gives voice and vibrancy to ‘forgotten women’, it showcases ways to interpret and navigate digital history data. The empathy McCalman shows in revealing convict women’s experiences makes this book of vital historiographical and empirical importance to scholars in the field. ”
AHA Kay Daniels Award, Judges' Commendation“
... a profoundly original and compassionate work of history that showcases new methods of collective biography to deliver fresh insights on every page about Australia’s colonial foundations. The Vandemonians were the generation of ex-convicts who crossed Bass Strait to lose themselves in Port Phillip and Victoria, seeking to escape their “demonised” past. … The convict experience is analysed in the full context of the life-course of individuals, singularly and in a crowd. This lucidly written historical study carries important lessons for our treatment today of the poor, the unwell and the disabled, the unprotected, abused and unloved.”
Ernest Scott Prize Judges“
Janet McCalman is a national treasure.”
Australian Book Review“
McCalman’s riveting book is likely to both shock and fascinate all those in quest of Victoria’s lesser-known colonial beginnings.”
The Age“
Janet McCalman is one of the best Australian historians writing today. No one can equal her record as a social historian ... Vandemonians offers its readers a deeper understanding of the complexity of our convict origins, and how these still shape the nation. In times like these we need to listen to Janet McCalman.”
Inside StoryJanet McCalman
Janet McCalman is known for her award-winning books, Struggletown, Journeyings and Sex and Suffering, all published by MUP. She co-edited with Emma Dawson What Happens Next: Reconstructing Australia after Covid-19 in 2020. For over twenty years she taught and researched interdisciplinary history at the University of Melbourne. In 2018 she was made a Companion of the Order of Australia.
Ebook
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 40% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 40% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 100% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 25% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 25% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 25% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 40% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 10% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 35% off the RRP of all print books.
Member discount
As an MUP member you get 40% off the RRP of all print books.
Other formats available
- Paperback
$39.99$29.99$39.99$29.99$39.99$29.99$39.99$35.99 $39.99
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