I listened to the audiobook of 23 hours. Fabulous! This book took the author 20 years to write due to research and accuracy. The story is based on true individuals of Ikey Solomon and Mary Sparrow who were convicts and sent to Australia to serve their sentences. MR. Cannon did a wonderful job telling their stories of street debauchery and Ikey's life of crime and Mary's good nature and tenacity to overcome society's views of criminals and women. The actor who read was superb! This is the first book of a trilogy and I'm looking forward to reading more of the Solomon's story.

Of course it was the mention of Dicken's "Fagan" that hooked me into reading this monster. I went back and forth in my opinion while reading it - feeling more than a little weary of the whole underworld aspect(there is only so much pick-pocketing, fencing, bawdy-house, filthy rathole-type content I can take before I start feeling jaded). However! The characters really held me, and I stayed with them, hoping they would somehow (however unlikely) get to a better place. Ikey and Mary are both vivid and colourful, and the large cast of characters was never confusing. I have to give credit to Courtenay for keeping the story gripping right to the end - in fact, after all my hemming and hawing, I think I might have to look up the next in the series just to find out what happens to Tommo and Hawk. If you have a strong stomach, check it out.

Wow... at first I wasn't sure I really felt like reading a story set in this era, but once I got started Bryce's characters just came alive and drew me into their story. As the plot developed I grew to really love these characters and couldn't wait to find out more about them.
The whole setting of convict Australia was not without its gruesome aspects, but Bryce wove these in as part of the whole atmosphere rather than focusing on them for the sake of effect.
Loved it! Now I see it's part of a trilogy and I guess I'll be reading the other two as well :)

I had a hard time deciding about this book -- do I like it, do I finish or now? -- and I gather others did too. It is definitely gritty and not the romantic side of the story that the history books like to tell. But, I do think the plot is very clever for the double and triple cross that takes place right before they leave England and head to Australia. The thing that makes it hard to follow is the switching of characters and story lines back and forth. I recommend this from the view point of history and a different view of it.