The First Fleet: The Real Story

By Alan Frost

In 1787 a convoy of eleven ships, carrying about 1400 people, set out from England for Botany Bay. According to the conventional account, it was a shambolic affair: under-prepared, poorly equipped and ill-disciplined. Robert Hughes condemned the organisers' "muddle and lack of foresight", while Manning Clark described scenes of "indescribable misery and confusion".

In The First Fleet: The Real Story, Alan Frost draws on previously forgotten records to debunk these persistent myths. He shows that the voyage was in fact meticulously planned - reflecting its importance to the British government's secret ambitions for imperial expansion. He examines the ships and supplies, passengers and behind-the-scenes discussions. In the process, he reveals the hopes and schemes of those who planned the voyage, and the experiences of those who made it.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1863955615
• ISBN13: 9781863955614
• Release Date: March 2012
• Publisher: Black Inc.
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.8"