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laura6's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
natalier3's review against another edition
3.0
This book was very mixed for me. Some parts I FLEW through, but then others really dragged and took me a while to get back to the gripping parts.
The start hooked me straight away but seemed to slow down many times and I would lose interest for about 20 pages until it gripped me again.
A really interesting premise and I have researched the Rajan quilt since reading this, which I think is a good sign.
Sadly, this just missed the mark.
The start hooked me straight away but seemed to slow down many times and I would lose interest for about 20 pages until it gripped me again.
A really interesting premise and I have researched the Rajan quilt since reading this, which I think is a good sign.
Sadly, this just missed the mark.
thereadingparamedic's review against another edition
4.0
Based on a real life voyage, Dangerous Women tells the story of a group of women who come together to stitch a coverlet (quilt) whilst they are away at sea for 105 days. The women are all convicts who are taken away from their homes & families as a punishment, to start a new life in Hobart. Despite their initial differences, the women come together for this project they have been tasked with, but along the journey there are some heartbreaking moments that they must overcome.
A story of confinement, courage, grief & love, I loved every word. It clearly has been well researched & sits well in its 1841 setting. Recommend!
A story of confinement, courage, grief & love, I loved every word. It clearly has been well researched & sits well in its 1841 setting. Recommend!
kba76's review against another edition
4.0
Dangerous Women is a fictionalised account of an historical voyage, and it sweeps you up in the intricacies of the lives of the women involved.
One hundred and eighty women are taken on board the ship that will be their home for the next fifteen weeks as they sail from England to Van Diemen’s Land, the place that will be their new home. All very different, but every one of the women has something in common...they have been convicted of a crime, and this is their opportunity to start anew. Though we don’t learn the identity of the person involved until very late on, one of the women should not be there. She has killed someone, and has done what was necessary to take her place on the ship in her desperation to hide her past.
Our story slowly reveals details of the past lives of some of the women, but for the most part we focus on their interactions during the journey. Some of the women are invited to become part of a group run by Kezia Taylor, a woman from a wealthy background who is convinced her presence can help these women change their situations.
While the book is, for substantial periods, quite gentle there is an undercurrent of menace. When one of the women in the group is stabbed, everyone is suspicious. Investigations are started to establish the truth...and we soon learn that those who are most dangerous are not always most visible.
A tale of hope and redemption, in the bleakest situations. The stifling atmosphere of the ship is perfect for allowing events to unfold, and I was most relieved when they ended by setting their sights on new land - their chance to start over.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this before publication in exchange for my review.
One hundred and eighty women are taken on board the ship that will be their home for the next fifteen weeks as they sail from England to Van Diemen’s Land, the place that will be their new home. All very different, but every one of the women has something in common...they have been convicted of a crime, and this is their opportunity to start anew. Though we don’t learn the identity of the person involved until very late on, one of the women should not be there. She has killed someone, and has done what was necessary to take her place on the ship in her desperation to hide her past.
Our story slowly reveals details of the past lives of some of the women, but for the most part we focus on their interactions during the journey. Some of the women are invited to become part of a group run by Kezia Taylor, a woman from a wealthy background who is convinced her presence can help these women change their situations.
While the book is, for substantial periods, quite gentle there is an undercurrent of menace. When one of the women in the group is stabbed, everyone is suspicious. Investigations are started to establish the truth...and we soon learn that those who are most dangerous are not always most visible.
A tale of hope and redemption, in the bleakest situations. The stifling atmosphere of the ship is perfect for allowing events to unfold, and I was most relieved when they ended by setting their sights on new land - their chance to start over.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this before publication in exchange for my review.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
‘A knife … is it true? Who’s got a knife?’
On 5 April 1841, the Rajah set sail from Woolwich, England en route for Van Diemen’s Land. She carried 180 female convicts. Kezia Hayter accompanied the women as matron, in charge of the prisoners and their ten children. The journey took fifteen weeks: the Rajah arrived at Hobart on 19 July 1841. During the journey, a number of the convict women made the Rajah Quilt, which is now held in the National Gallery of Australia (https://nga.gov.au/rajahquilt/).
Around these facts, Ms Adams has woven an historical thriller involving fictional convicts, including one who has stolen the identity of another to survive. In this novel, Kezia Hayter selects eighteen women to work with her on the quilt. The activity draws the women together and tentative friendships form. And then one of them is stabbed. Fatally. Who stabbed her, and why? Some of the women working on the quilt were on deck at the same time as the woman was stabbed, and it seems likely that one of them is guilty. The mood aboard the ship changes as the women become fearful for their safety. Kezia Hayter and the Captain want to find the truth, and an inquiry is launched.
Ms Adams brings the confined quarters of the ship to life: the cramped, uncomfortable conditions, the monotonous food, the seasickness. The chapters alternate between past (in which we learn more about some of the characters and how they came to be aboard the Rajah) and present. And the answer to the murder may come as a surprise.
Ms Adams chose to create fictional characters for the convict characters in her novel because some of the real women on the voyage have living descendants. Some of the others named (including Kezia Hayter) were aboard the Rajah.
‘A patchwork of souls.’
I have seen the Rajah Quilt on display at the National Gallery of Australia (it is not on permanent display because of its fragility). For those interested in more information about the making of the quilt, I can recommend this book: ‘Patchwork prisoners: the Rajah Quilt and the women who made it’ by Trudy Cowley and Dianne Snowden. This is one of the books included in Ms Adams’s Bibliography.
I enjoyed the novel.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
On 5 April 1841, the Rajah set sail from Woolwich, England en route for Van Diemen’s Land. She carried 180 female convicts. Kezia Hayter accompanied the women as matron, in charge of the prisoners and their ten children. The journey took fifteen weeks: the Rajah arrived at Hobart on 19 July 1841. During the journey, a number of the convict women made the Rajah Quilt, which is now held in the National Gallery of Australia (https://nga.gov.au/rajahquilt/).
Around these facts, Ms Adams has woven an historical thriller involving fictional convicts, including one who has stolen the identity of another to survive. In this novel, Kezia Hayter selects eighteen women to work with her on the quilt. The activity draws the women together and tentative friendships form. And then one of them is stabbed. Fatally. Who stabbed her, and why? Some of the women working on the quilt were on deck at the same time as the woman was stabbed, and it seems likely that one of them is guilty. The mood aboard the ship changes as the women become fearful for their safety. Kezia Hayter and the Captain want to find the truth, and an inquiry is launched.
Ms Adams brings the confined quarters of the ship to life: the cramped, uncomfortable conditions, the monotonous food, the seasickness. The chapters alternate between past (in which we learn more about some of the characters and how they came to be aboard the Rajah) and present. And the answer to the murder may come as a surprise.
Ms Adams chose to create fictional characters for the convict characters in her novel because some of the real women on the voyage have living descendants. Some of the others named (including Kezia Hayter) were aboard the Rajah.
‘A patchwork of souls.’
I have seen the Rajah Quilt on display at the National Gallery of Australia (it is not on permanent display because of its fragility). For those interested in more information about the making of the quilt, I can recommend this book: ‘Patchwork prisoners: the Rajah Quilt and the women who made it’ by Trudy Cowley and Dianne Snowden. This is one of the books included in Ms Adams’s Bibliography.
I enjoyed the novel.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
alrauna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
julmd4's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0