Author(s): Mrs Suzanne David

Australian

In the spring of 1813 a bewildered young woman stepped off the ship she had been traveling in for 209 days. It was the end of a grim journey and the beginning of a new life. Elizabeth Manning, well born and well educated, had been wrongly convicted of theft. The result was seven years transportation to the prison colony in New South Wales. Elizabeth's life changed when she achieved the status of being an emancipated convict and became the governess to the younger children of Elizabeth Macarthur, the wife of an important but troublesome land owner, John Macarthur. Elizabeth Macquarie is the wife of the new Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, a dour Scotsman, whose vision for the future of the colony is at odds with those of John Macarthur and many of the existing population. The three women are strong women who have great influence, and use their power and status to advise, guide and encourage those in the Sydney community who need their support.