For the Term of His Natural Life (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Victorian Convict Saga of Van Diemen's Land, Penal Brutality, and Survival in Colonial AustraliaBy Marcus Clarke
Length21h 10m
About this audiobook
For the Term of His Natural Life is Marcus Clarke's major novel of transportation, penal brutality, and spiritual endurance in colonial Australia. First serialized in the 1870s, it follows the wrongfully convicted Rufus Dawes through the nightmare of Van Diemen's Land, exposing the convict system's institutional cruelty and moral absurdity. Combining melodrama, documentary realism, Gothic atmosphere, and social protest, the novel stands within Victorian sensation fiction while also inaugurating a distinctively Australian literature of exile, landscape, and historical reckoning. Clarke, born in London in 1846 and emigrating to Victoria as a young man, brought to colonial writing both metropolitan literary training and an outsider's alertness to Australian society. As a journalist, librarian, and man of letters, he researched penal records and absorbed the anxieties of a settler culture haunted by its convict foundations. His own experiences of displacement, debt, and precarious respectability sharpened his sympathy for lives broken by law, class, and circumstance. This book is essential for readers interested in nineteenth-century fiction, Australian history, or the literature of punishment and injustice. Though at times expansive and theatrical, it remains powerful, humane, and historically indispensable: a landmark novel that transforms colonial memory into moral drama.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.9 (4.2K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing
GenreHistorical Fiction, Literary Classics
Length21 hrs 10 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 6, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1For the Term of His Natural Life (Annotated)
26The Seizure of the "Osprey"
2Introduction
27John Rex's Revenge
3Synopsis
28Left at "Hell's Gates"
4Historical Context
29"Mr." Dawes
5Book I: The Sea. 1827
30What the Seaweed Suggested
Show all chaptersShow less
6The Prison Ship
31A Wonderful Day's Work
7Sarah Purfoy
32The Coracle
8The Monotony Breaks
33The Writing on the Sand
9The Hospital
34At Sea
10The Barracoon
35A Labourer in the Vineyard
11The Fate of the "Hydaspes"
36Sarah Purfoy's Request
12Typhus Fever
37The Story of Two Birds of Prey
13A Dangerous Crisis
38"The Notorious Dawes"
14Woman's Weapons
39Maurice Frere's Good Angel
15Eight Bells
40Mr. Meekin Administers Consolation
16Discoveries and Confessions
41Rufus Dawes's Idyll
17A Newspaper Paragraph
42An Escape
18The Topography of Van Diemen's Land
43John Rex's Letter Home
19The Solitary of "Hell's Gates"
44What Became of the Mutineers of the "Osprey"
20A Social Evening
45A Relic of Macquarie Harbour
21The Bolter
46At Port Arthur
22Sylvia
47The Commandant's Butler
23A Leap in the Dark
48Mr. North's Indisposition
24The Last of Macquarie Harbour
49One Hundred Lashes
25The Power of the Wilderness
50Kicking Against the Pricks
More from Marcus Clarke
The Things We Cannot SayKelly Rimmer13h 48m4.5 (359.1K)$33 · $0.00
Lieutenant Hornblower (Annotated)C. S. Forester11h 41m4.5 (2.9K)$2 · $0.00
Rilla of InglesideLucy Maud Montgomery11h 44m4.5 (48.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Viennese DressmakerKathryn Gauci11h 46m4.5 (2.1K)$23 · $0.00
The Man in the Brown Suit & They Came to BaghdadAgatha Christie15h 43m4.6 (495)$33 · $0.00
Under the Light of the Italian MoonJennifer Anton12h 28m4.5 (5.3K)$23 · $0.00
Jubilee, 50th Anniversary EditionMargaret Walker15h 43m4.5 (9.5K)$25 · $0.00
Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen14h 44m4.4 (4.7M)$2 · $0.00
Flying Colours (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith9h 26m4.4 (10.1K)$2 · $0.00
With Love from HarlemReShonda Tate13h 48m4.5 (2K)$6 · $0.00
Sweet Home Highland ChristmasMay McGoldrick, Jan Coffey2h 54m4.5 (1.4K)$7 · $0.00
Rilla of InglesideL. M. Montgomery12h 25m4.4 (67.5K)$2 · $0.00
Death Comes for the Archbishop (Annotated)Willa Cather9h 13m4.4 (4.7K)$2 · $0.00
The Alice NetworkKate Quinn15h 7m4.4 (887.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Goddess of WarsawLisa Barr13h 4m4.4 (36.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Ohio River Trilogy: Betty Zane, The Spirit of the Border & The Last TrailZane Grey29h 8m4.4 (1.8K)$1 · $0.00
The Attic ChildLola Jaye14h 46m4.4 (21K)$33 · $0.00
Martyr of the CatacombsJames De Mille3h 41m4.5 (744)$1 · $0.00
Bring Up The BodiesHilary Mantel14h 35m4.4 (150K)$33 · $0.00
By the Shores of Silver LakeLaura Ingalls Wilder7h 38m4.4 (103.7K)$1 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)William Shakespeare29h 42m4.6 (2.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 40m4.6 (1.3K)$1 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 54m4.5 (10.6K)$2 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
The North American IndianEdward S. Curtis, Frederick Webb Hodge6h4.5 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Uncensored 13 Chapter Version + The Revised 20 Chapter Version (Annotated)Oscar Wilde16h 12m4.5 (2.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
Grimoire Of The Everyday WitchIsadora Lys / Virginia Santos5h 35m4.5 (3.9K)$9 · $0.00
Winnie-the-PoohAlan Alexander Milne2h 52m4.5 (401.1K)$3 · $0.00
Sitting PrettyRebekah Taussig7h 33m4.5 (18.9K)$26 · $0.00
The Poetic Edda & The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson, Saemund Sigfusson9h 34m4.5 (4K)$1 · $0.00
You may also like
Here in Our Auschwitz, and Other StoriesTadeusz Borowski12h 46m4.3 (2.2K)$23 · $0.00
A Tale of Two CitiesCharles Dickens15h 1m4.1 (1.1M)$5 · $0.00
Anna Karenina (Maude Translation, Unabridged and Annotated)Leo Tolstoy39h 30m4.1 (957.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Scarlet LetterNathaniel Hawthorne6h 7m3.7 (1M)$11 · $0.00
The Exemplary Novels of CervantesMiguel de Cervantes19h 21m3.7 (1.9K)$1 · $0.00
A Tale of Two CitiesCharles Dickens14h 43m4.1 (1M)$25
The Hunchback of Notre-DameVictor Hugo21h 32m4.1 (255.9K)$12 · $0.00
Shooting an Elephant and other essaysEric Arthur Blair13h 12m4.2 (16.5K)$2 · $0.00
Leo Tolstoy: The Complete Novels (The Greatest Novelists of All Time – Book 4) (Annotated)Leo Tolstoy165h 48m4.6 (1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The ChouansHonoré de Balzac13h 26m3.7 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Best Short Stories of Leo TolstoyLeo Tolstoy101h 24m4.4 (233)$2 · $0.00
The complete Stories of the North (Annotated)Jack London47h4.5 (28)$1.99 · $0.00
Widger's Quotes and Images from Zilah by Jules ClaretieJules Claretie44m$2 · $0.00
The Devil's WindPatricia Wentworth11h 20m3.6 (205)$2 · $0.00
Complete Plays of Robert Browning (Annotated)Robert Browning29h 14m$2 · $0.00
The Hour Will Come: A Tale of an Alpine Cloister. Volumes I and IIWilhelmine von Hillern7h 36m$2 · $0.00
The Andy Adams Cowboy Collection – 19 Western Classics in One Volume (Annotated)Andy Adams55h 27m4.2 (10)$2 · $0.00
Secrets of the Streets: 10 Books of Captivating Prostitution TalesGeorge Bernard Shaw, George J. Kneeland, Fflorens Roberts, Robert O. Harland, Samuel Paynter Wilson, H. M. Lytle, Elizabeth W. Andrew, Katharine C. Bushnell56h 34m$1.99 · $0.00
The Man Who Was GoodLeonard Merrick5h 44m$2 · $0.00
The Mississippi Bubble (Historical Novel Based on a True Events) (Annotated)Emerson Hough11h 15m3.8 (66)$2 · $0.00