Dangerous Women

I have just finished reading the historical note at the end of this book and I am astonished that this book is loosely based on a real voyage.

This story follows the journey of the Rajah,a Ship that sailed in the 1810s carrying hundreds of English female convicts to their new life in Tasmania. A group of 18 of those convicts selected by the Matron Kezia Hayter are invited to work on a coverlet that they will present to royalty when they dock in Tasmania. However when one of the lucky 18 is stabbed, the journey takes a sickening and dark turn.

This is historical fiction at its best. It's rooted in an actual factual voyage and some of the names of the characters are the same. But it also transcends the historical fiction genre with the who dunnit and why dunnit elements.

This novel is rich and expansive but not unnecessarily lengthy or stilted. I felt like this book gave me a lot as a reader and made me feel like I was viscerally in the story. The claustrophobia of the cabin, the smell of the lower decks, the tempestuous weather of the storms. I would highly recommend giving this book a go if your looking to pick up more historical fiction.

Thanks to the author Hope Adams, Penguin UK and Netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Adams bases her novel Dangerous Women on the historical event in 1841 where 180 English women were transported to Van Diemen's Island for petty crimes committed. They sailed for 3 months aboard the Rajah where they were confined to the lower deck, sleeping on flimsy bunks with access to limited daylight. During their time aboard the women produced the Raja Quilt, by sewing together a patchwork quilt with material given to them by Elizabeth Fry and her committee of twelve other women. The Raja Quilt is now housed in the National Gallery of Australia.

Although Adam's uses some historic events and the names of people aboard the Rajah her story is fictional. The opening pages take you straight to the stabbing of one of the convicted women aboard the ship. The story then weaves from present day to a few months earlier where you get to meet Kezia Hayter, the matron in charge of the women and the convicts themselves. I loved this punchy start. A historical fiction novel with a whodunit mystery integrated. My perfect combination of genre.

The characters were rich in description and their backstories were heartbreaking at times. Clara, a woman who was convicted of murder should have been sent to the gallows but through her own devious actions managed to swap identities with another convict allowing her to climb aboard the Rajah. Clara's new identify is kept hidden until the very end and I loved trying to work out which convict's name she had adopted. Having murdered before was she the culprit responsible for stabbing Hattie? You truly can't help but feel for these women, most through their unfortunate circumstances are now facing a life in a foreign country away from their loved ones. The harsh conditions they face onboard the ship and the unknown fate which lies ahead of them is shocking.

Kezia, a young woman, showed kindness to the convicts and was determined to give them a daily distraction by the production of the coverlet. Her courage to speak up to the Captain, surgeon and Reverend was admirable especially in her determination to find the truth and protect the women in her care. What was interesting was hearing from Hattie. When we first meet her she has been stabbed and in a critical condition, we then go back two months and hear her backstory.

This book, although fictional, allows us to be reminded of historical events and the lives of so many women who were treated unjust. It was an interesting and thought-provoking book which I fully emerged myself in. I found myself trying to solve the mystery of who stabbed Hattie and why alongside the Captain, surgeon, Reverend and matron. A great read and one I highly recommend