Adapted from Gutenberg, with toc, cover, and numerous OCR errors fixed, eg, ni/m, b/h etc.
John Boyle O'Reilly was a 19th century Irish rebel or "Fenian" convicted by the British and sent to the then Penal Colony of Western Australia on the last ever convict ship, the Hougomont. He worked on a road gang in the Vasse district, and subsequently engineered his escape. In Boston he became a greatly respected journalist and writer.
This book is clearly based on his own experiences, but is entirely fiction. The title Moondyne comes from a real, near-legendary figure in Western Australian convict history, Moondyne Joe, real name Joseph Bolitho Johns, who achieved fame by a series of daring escapes. There is no resemblance between the Moondyne Joe of the novel and the real one; just the name.The real Moondyne eventually served out his time, and is said to have died in the late 1930s in the Sunset Home in Dalkeith.
The story incorporates a lengthy plea for prison reform.
This work is assumed to be in the Life+70 public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. Copyright laws differ throughout the world, and it may still be under copyright in some countries. Before downloading, please check your country's copyright laws.
If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.
To report a copyright violation you can
contact us here.