I'll admit, I'm always intrigued by historical fiction based on real-life women from history. Gwyn is tough, smart, and determined even in the face of what appear to be insurmountable odds. This isn't a story for the faint of heart - there are moments that will make your heart race, and others that will make your skin crawl. Keneally did an excellent job of bringing the setting and characters to life, unfolding the story around you as though you had stepped right into the pages. This truly did justice to the unforgettable life of an extraordinary woman.

I enjoyed this survivalist novel about the early settlement of Australia! I kept turning pages to see how the book would end.

The progression of “Fled” [Meg Keneally/Arcade/408pgs] is one of abstract strife but undoubted perseverance. While the conclusion of the book reflects more in the idea of admiring lives that are only given praise in hindsight, the journey of Jenny Gwyn in the book is a great tale. This book would make a wonderful series and character study especially in the days of series like “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” but with a decidedly darker tinge. The travails and discussions of today didn’t exist on the ship that Jenny was sentenced to after being convicted of stealing from a women of stature in England. Rather than hang, she is sent on a ship where both men and women are carted as slaves, cheaper than labor, to help work colonies in border lands in Australia. The colonies could be anywhere. It is simply a prison from which there is no escape. The vividness of the times on the boat and even on land have a sense of intensity about them. Jenny knows how to survive and while not being overtly assertive or aggressive, realizes how to make her life work and how it can go wrong. She marries a man who is both admired of her but also misled on his own importance. This to and fro is the pulse of the book. Jenny is mostly right but she also wants her husband, who is the best fisherman in the colony to live up to his standard. But jealousy among others and the inherent politics of class, greed and avarice definitely play into the proceedings. This is not “Lord Of The Flies” but people simply surviving on the edge of society where society still thinks it has a foothold. It is reminiscent of the house Martin Sheen visits in the director’s cut of “Apocalypse Now” It is real and yet almost imaginary…a hell from which there is no escape. And yet plans are made.

The dexterity but also vignettes of optimism which Keneally captures in small details with the fish, Jenny’s eventual children and the natives give voices to that desolation and helplessness that “Lost” sometimes had but also hope that can be quickly quashed. The eventual escape through both folly and punishment from the island references “The Bounty” but also brings to mind Hitchcock’s “Lifeboat”. The details as they traverse the sea in a boat that should not is made beautiful by the simple visions and repairs that are done along the way. While it might sound mundane in the writing of this review, it is not. It is existential without pretending to be….dramatic without resorting to melodrama. The struggle between life and death as well as ego is an interesting conundrum as played out on the boat as seen by Keneally. There is a rescue of sorts but the way it plays out adheres to the true nature of the characters leading them from the brink of salvation back into the depths of hell. Without giving the ending away, the book relays the possibility of redemption in a certain fashion. While this is admirable and does keep in time with the real life aspect of Mary Bryant, it almost comes off too neat. The ending epilogue the author admits is a fabrication and it feels so since it lacks the authenticity of the rest of Jenny’s journey, not to spite it but rather to try to give it meaning. But in doing so, it belittles her suffering in a way. Three-quarters of the book is fantastic while the last quarter feels like a moderate tack. Nevertheless it is a fantastic female-centric story that plays across the board both tugging at the heartstrings but also providing a sense of adventure even in a dark context. In many ways there is a parallel to Netflix’s recent “Lost In Space” with the matriarch pushing through with logic and emotion pushing at each other. Granted it lives in a different time but the same universal truths remain constant. B

By Tim Wassber

I recently bought a new kindle after my old one broke. For some reason I was unable to download this title from the cloud onto my kindle, therefore I will be unable to review this title. I am sorry for any inconvenience caused.

"Between 1788 and 1868, around 162,000 convicts were shipped across the ocean by the British government for detainment in penal colonies scattered across Australia. The earliest of which was located in The Rocks. Most convicts brought to Sydney, or New Holland as it was called then, were being punished for mere petty crimes.
Convicted of stealing a silk bonnet, Mary Bryant was one of the first women prisoners brought to The Rocks in 1788. However, in 1791, Mary schemed a masterful plan to escape along with her husband, two children and 7 other prisoners."
http://seekersunite.com/sydney/therocks/
........"........

Based on the life story of one of Sydney's [Australia] most recognized historical figures, this embellished account of Mary Bryant's life after being transported to Australia on the convict ship 'Charlotte,' is a compelling and intriguing work of fiction.
Anyone familiar with The Rocks area in Sydney's Circular Quay will surely have heard of Mary Bryant and her infamous beginnings in the Colony.

Right from the start this book compels the reader to continue listening to the unfolding story as you immediately begin to get an anxious feel for the experiences ahead of Mary Bryant and her two children, strapped as they were by ropes, to the small boat in which they were fleeing for their lives.

It is 1791 and they are in a small crudely modified and outfitted boat, somewhere in the Tasman Sea, off the New South Wales coast. A notoriously dangerous stretch of water to sail under any circumstances....particularly hazardous for a small boat totally unsuited to conditions which would challenge even the hulking convict ship in which they first arrived in the colony, and from which they are now attempting escape.

There are five adult passengers and two children..babies really..in the small boat, Mary being the only adult female.
Her husband is at the tiller fighting for control of the too small vessel, whilst the other three miscreants on-board were, for various reasons, of little if any help in assisting to navigating their boat to safety.
As huge waves pound relentlessly at the small boat, their physical stamina and mental endurance is being tested to the full, as they now quietly contemplate their future and question the choices they collectively made to flee the insufferable forces that compelled them to fulfill this brazen attempt at freedom.
They need to find land, hopefully with fresh water and some food sources, where they can rest and restore their energies, before continuing on their long and arduous journey towards a freedom they can only imagine and pray awaits them.

To the best of my knowledge this is Meg Keneally's first solo book of fiction...
She has co authored a series of historical fiction with her renowned author father, Tom Keneally, called The Monsarrat series which is also an exceptionally good Australian historical fiction, and highly recommended by this reader.

A hugely compelling read!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to lovers of historical fiction as well as lovers of a great read involving action packed adventure, intrigue and thrilling challenges, as well as an element of historical truth.
5⭐️'s

With many thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my digital copy to read and review.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to our readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

A heartbreaking but very interesting story about love, loss, forgiveness and family. I almost gave up on this book. It starts out well enough, but then I hit a rough patch. I kept going, giving it the benefit of the doubt and I'm glad I did. Highly enjoyable read, though I warn you, it's sad! It's based on a true story, which is what I thought as I got farther into it. A story well worth reading!
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley!
All opinions are my own!

Once in awhile, a book comes along that is enthralling from the very beginning and impossible to put down. Fled by Meg Keneally is one of those gems.
I have always been fascinated by the early European settlements of North America (13 colonies), and Australia. I have read quite a few books on the 13 colonies but Fled is the first I have read of Australia.
I have read the story of Mary Bryant but in dry clinical articles. Meg Keneally brings new life to the story of an amazing woman who beat all the odds but ended up paying the price.
The story is based on the life of Mary Bryant who managed to escape from the penal colony in Australia. Most elements in the story told here are based in truth but names have been changed and some parts of the story have been changed or invented. It is understandable considering that only court records exist and it is next to impossible to know what Mary (Jenny) felt and thought or the reasons why she did what she did.
Jenny Trelawney makes the life-changing decision to become a highwaywoman after her father dies and her family is facing poverty. Needless to say, she is caught and convicted but instead of execution, Jenny is condemned to serve her time in a new land (Australia).
The story is so well researched and written in such a vivid way that you can feel the ship under your feet and the horror at the prospect of trying to survive in a new world.
Highly recommended for anyone who wants a taste of what it must have been like for these brave new colonists.

It took awhile for me to really care about what happened to the main character, Jenny. There were really rough consequences for her actions, but those consequences wouldn't have been a big surprise to someone living at that time. I really began to fell more connected to the story once Jenny had a baby to try to take care of.

I understand that Jenny is loosely based on a real person, but I found it easier to enjoy the story while thinking of it as really well-written historical fiction. There are things we can't possibly know about the real person that Jenny does, and she has a very satisfying way of speaking up for herself that most people don't have in real life.

This was very close to being five stars for me, if the ending had been a little different. I liked the way it ended, but it didn't quite work for me in this story. Still, that's a minor issue, and the book was very good. I would be interested in reading more of this author's work.

Most enjoyable, this was a great read and all the better for being based on the true story of Mary Bryant, a remarkable young woman for her time. The author explains why she fictionalised the account, and it worked perfectly, blending the available facts of the case with an imagined but highly believable backstory, and filling in the gaps. I found it well written, rich in period detail, and would recommend to anyone who likes history, real or fiction.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

Thank you netgalley for a digital ARC of Fled!

I loved this book! I almost finished it in one sitting, it hooked me from the first page. It wasn’t until I finished abs read the afterward that I learned that this was based on a real person.

The story is about Jenny Gwyn, a poor girl from Cornwall who gets caught stealing and then is transported to Australia for seven years. The journey to get there is terrifying, and most were lucky to survive, but Jenny did more than just survive. Jenny may have been poor, but she was smart, and she knew how to survive. Once she arrived in Australia, she quickly formed alliances and became an “upstanding” citizen in the colony.

And then she plans an escape. Escape by sea. She and her fellow escapees travel a similar route to the survivors of the Caine mutiny. But the story doesn’t end there.

I don’t want to give it all away. This novel is a good old fashioned adventure. If you enjoy historical fiction and adventure, you will definitely enjoy this book.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Jenny Trelawney was shattered by her father’s death and the gradual decline of her mother. The need for money for food drove Jenny to become a highwaywoman, but although she and her two companions were good at what they did, they finally made a mistake. Their arrest and incarceration into Newgate Prison, and the news they were to hang wasn’t a surprise to Jenny. But the waiving of the hanging with transportation to the new colony at Sydney Cove was a big shock. Their journey on the Charlotte was arduous, filthy and with starvation looming, Jenny did what she had to. Her arrival in Sydney Cove saw her accompanied by her tiny daughter Charlotte.

Realising that marriage would offer them protection, she propositioned Dan Gwyn, a fellow inmate who was also a dedicated fisherman, and between the two of them they managed to better themselves slightly. Providing the colony with fish had the Governor allowing certain privileges but when it all went wrong, they were back in trouble once again. That led to Jenny, her children, Dan and several others setting sail on a cutter, determined to escape the confines of Sydney Cove and the shackles they felt there. But could they possibly reach safety in the small boat? Would they have enough water and food; supplies to see them right on the desperate journey?

Fled by Aussie author Meg Keneally is a fascinating, heartbreaking tale of heroism, hardship, determination and courage. Based on the true story of Mary Bryant, it shows an innate strength of character in Jenny that very few women would have. What that woman went through beggars belief, and yet it was incredibly real. A thoroughly enjoyable read, Fled is one I highly recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

‘A girl of torn skirts and wet feet, a creature of the sea as her sister was a product of the hearth.’

Cornwall, 1783. Jenny Trelawney’s father is a fisherman, and Jenny has helped him. But when he dies at sea, the Trelawneys are forced to sell the boat. They need the money. But the money doesn’t last long, and Jenny’s mother is too full of grief to pay attention to the laundry she used to take in for payment. Jenny’s sister is in service, but Jenny’s too restless. She becomes a highwaywoman – until her luck runs out. Tried, convicted and sentenced to death, Jenny’s sentence is commuted to seven years transportation. She is amongst the convicts transported to New South Wales on the First Fleet in 1787, arriving in January 1788.

‘Rumours, of course, were as contagious as any disease down in the darkness, fed by boredom until they grew grotesque.’

Once in New South Wales, with her baby daughter Charlotte, she marries Dan Glyn, a fisherman. And, as famine threatens the small settlement, Jenny believes that escape is necessary, in order to survive. Jenny and her daughter Charlotte, her husband Dan and their son Emmanuel, together with a handful of other convicts, plan their escape. They set off in a small boat to travel some 5,000 kilometres to Coepang (on the island of Timor, then under the control of the Dutch). But this is only part of Jenny’s journey.

‘There was the salt and the air.’

This is Meg Keneally’s debut solo novel and was inspired by the extraordinary life of Mary Bryant. If you know Mary Bryant’s story, you’ll have some idea where this novel will take you. But whether you know Mary Bryant’s story or not, be prepared for a totally absorbing story. Ms Keneally brings both characters and place to life: I can feel Jenny’s fierce need to protect her children and I can see how very alien Sydney Cove would have seemed. I wonder who will survive, and what will happen next.

I read this novel twice: first in paperback and then as an electronic review copy. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in reading well-written historical fiction.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

Jenny Gwyn has proven herself a survivor. When she's caught stealing to support her impoverished family, she and dozens of other convicts are sent across the world to help settle England's newest colony in Australia.

Based on the life of an incredible historical heroine, Mary Bryant. Great story, well told.

4.25☆

I haven't previously read any fiction set around the arrival of the first fleet in Australia in 1788 and the establishment of the first colony at Sydney Cove so really enjoyed this re-imagined account.

Based on the remarkable life of historical figure, Mary Bryant whose death sentence for highway robbery was commuted to transportation, it is an eye-opening account of what life would really have been like for the first settlers. As little is known of the actual details of the lives of the convicts involved, the author has given them fictional names, using the events in Mary's life as a scaffold for her main character, Jenny Gwyn (nee Trelawney).

It is a remarkable story. The British were totally unprepared to establish a new settlement and struggled to grow and find enough food in the harsh conditions and soon the colony was struggling to feed itself. While they needed farmers and builders to quickly get shelter and a food supply established all they had were a large group of uneducated petty thieves, already ill and half starved from the deprivations of the eight month journey in the hull of a ship. Contact with the Eora aborigines, who could have shown them how to feed themselves from the land, was discouraged by the Governor.

Like Mary Bryant, Jenny had become pregnant on the journey and so had baby Charlotte to also try to keep alive. From a Cornish fishing family herself, she astutely married a Cornish fisherman who was granted leave from the Governor to organise fishing for the colony. This allowed them some privileges in building their own family shelter and being allowed to keep some fish for themselves. It also allowed them access to a boat, a small cutter, which led to an audacious plan to escape to the Dutch trading post of Kupang in West Timor, an incredible journey of over three thousand nautical miles that took them 63 days. That all survived, including Mary/Jenny and her two small children (Charlotte and baby Emanuel) speaks to her toughness and tenacity. Unfortunately they were not to be free for long and the remainder of the book describes their recapture, nightmare journey back to England, Jenny's trial and her celebrity in the media of the day.

This is a lively, well written account of the arrival of the first fleet and it's attempts to establish a new settlement under ill-prepared and difficult circumstances. Built on well-researched historical detail, the author has captured the atmosphere of the time and conditions of life on the shores of Sydney Cove. I enjoyed learning of the life of Mary Bryant through the fictional version of Jenny Gwyn, and I especially liked that, as Ms Keneally states in her Author's notes that, since we don't know what happened to Mary after her trial, "I wrote for Jenny the ending I feel Mary deserves". Recommended for all those who enjoy well written historical fiction.

Fled by Meg Keneally was a gripping tale about a woman named Jenny Gwyn, based off of Mary Bryant who was "an iconic figure in the foundation lore of Australia". This novel was a whirlwind reading experience. I experienced so many emotions: anger, sadness, fear, small pieces of joy, and hope. I spent so much of this book just hoping for something good to resolve it.

Reading this story was heart-wrenching and to realize it's based in so much truth broke my heart even more. It was a captivating tale of survival and endurance and the resolve of one woman who has done everything in her power to make sure that she is able to stay alive.

Jenny's story spans many years and thousands of miles as she goes from a highway woman to a convict, England to Australia and more. There were parts that seemed to drag on but seeing as the narrative spanned so much it didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the book overall because it always eventually picked up again.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of historical fiction, books based off of real life historical figures, and tales of survival at all costs.

Southern Cornwall, 1783: Jenny Trelawney grew up helping her father on a boat, but when the sea claims his life, her family is forced to sell the boat to help with the money.

Jenny already has a reputation of an odd one, and with an unladylike mouth it’s even more difficult to find a husband. With no prospects for a husband or a job in Cornwall, she travels to Plymouth in search for some work.

On her way to Plymouth, she witnesses highway robbery and this puts an idea into her mind, which leads her only to prison.

The extension of the Royal Mercy takes her to England’s newest colony of Australia to settle it.

After months of brutal journey through rough waters and deplorable conditions, they arrive at sandy beaches with the ground unsuited for growing anything. The land hasn’t been explored fully yet, but the officials of the new colony, already encourage marriages between the convicts here.

As the vegetables fail to grow and the ground turns even challenging for building huts, the new ways of the new land had to be learned in order to survive. The waters are to be explored for fish instead.

With more convicts coming to the settlement and not enough food, Jenny starts hatching a plan of escape. She learns of an island called Coepang, which was colonized by Dutch people, who are friendly and hospitable to those who get wrecked on the ocean.

This atmospheric novel gives glimpses into each step of the life’s journey of the heroine. Her missteps on her home land, the rough journey to the new colony, the reality and struggle to survive on the new land, and her escape and encounters with the natives some more friendly than the others – keeping a reader on their toes.

With interesting characters, the story is told with engaging prose and moving dialogue injected with some humor. When Jenny is called the heroine of the seas, her husband accuses her, “it rests around your shoulders like a shawl.”

And above all, it is a touching portrayal of a very strong woman who voraciously fought for survival and even more for her children to be in a safe environment and have enough food.

I really wanted to like Fled. I usually enjoy historical fiction based on true stories, especially when they are based on heroines such as Mary Bryant. While it seems that other readers enjoyed this book, for some reason I didn't respond to or enjoy the author's style. I found the book hard to get through and started skimming through it. I will say that this book did not transport me to the time period and I did not feel as if the author made the reader an active participant in the story, which to me, is an important attribute of my favorite historical fiction novels.

Fled is based on the amazing of life of Mary Bryant who was transported to an Australian penal colony and actually escaped. This alternative narrative follows young Jenny Gwyn as she is convicted for highway robbery, survives a harrowing transportation, endures a primitive life in an unsettled Australian landscape, and finally embarks on a daring escape.

The story is well-written and vividly detailed. Meg Keneally has masterfully created characters that are engaging and genuine. This is a noble re-telling of events surrounding an important figure in Australian history. Recommended for true lovers of historical fiction.

Full disclosure- An ARC of this book was provided via NetGalley in return for this review.