The WIP is finished! No more Henry VIII story forever! (Okay, that’s not entirely true. The rough draft is done, I’m still polishing and tweaking. But the hardest part is over!). I saw two movies over the Memorial Day weekend (this is unusual, even though I love movies, because the huge multiplex that always has Exclusive Engagements on the interesting films is in the middle of the mall and is a pain to get to. I usually wait for the DVD). I saw Waitress, a wonderful little gem I highly recommend, just be sure you have somewhere to go for pie afterward. And I saw Pirates 3. I was disappointed. Very, very disappointed. Very, very, very–you get the picture. And I found this great website that sells beautiful handmade pendants. I’m going to order the Jane Austen and Marie Antoinette models ASAP, and don’t be surprised if you see the Muses necklaces as giveaways here someday when my Muse books come out.
And now the point of this post (yes, I do sometimes have one). I don’t know a lot about Australian history. What little I do know comes from books like Blue Latitudes and The Fatal Shore, and movies like Strictly Ballroom (though I don’t imagine SB is really represantative of the lives of most–or any–Australians!). A couple weeks ago I saw an episode of the PBS series Secrets of the Dead called The Voyage of the Courtesans (to be more accurate, they really should have called it “The Voyage of the Streetwalkers and Pickpockets,” but whatever). It was very fascinating!
Three modern Australian women wanted to trace the lives of their convict ancestors from the late 18th century. The research starts in London, where they go to the British Library to track down old court records. An historian took one of the women to what’s left of Newgate (I didn’t realize there were still cells left, underground beneath a block of posh flats–very creepy), and told her what life was like for the women before they were transported. Then they follow the 10-month voyage, their arrival in Australia, and what happened to them there.
It was also quite inspiring. One of the women (an 18 year old prostitute at the beginning) ends up running a chain of pubs and owning two houses. One runs a ferry service with several employees. One marries a rich shipowner and becomes a famous hostess, invited to balls at the governor’s house. And one (11 years old when she was caught thieving and sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to transportation for life in an amnesty following George III’s “recovery from madness”)–she ends up dying at nearly 90, surrounded by children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. Respectable and loved. They all did far better for themselves there than they ever could have in London.
Any of these women would make terrific heroines in novels! They came from the most adverse conditions imaginable, and built terrific lives for themselves. Amazing.
A few links:
Roger Ebert’s Review of Strictly Ballroom
Have any of you ever tried to trace your ancestors? What did you find? And have you seen any good movies so far this summer???
Congratulations on the first draft, Amanda! And I saw those pendants too, I really, really want some, a lot, ALL!
I have never tried to trace my ancestors, I feel as if that curiosity gene is missing from my make-up.
I still want to see Pirates, will take my son to see it. At least I’ll be air-conditioned for a few hours, and SOMEONE won’t be talking about video games ALL THE TIME.
We only looked up a little bit a time ago about our ancestry, but not a whole lot or very extensively. 🙂
Alas, unless we get new DVDs no movies here. LOL 🙂 We only go to the movies for very major ones. Major, major movies we can not miss. The last time was Star Wars Ep III. Before that II. . . before that I. . . before that Star Trek 8. You get the idea. 😉
And congrats on finishing!! 🙂
Australia. . . all I know is it was a penal colony which an area called Botany Bay became Khan’s ship in Star Trek 😉 . . . and two Crocodile guys are from there, the Hunter and Dundee. 🙂 And they are always the first to see the NEw Year. 🙂
Lois
Lois, I’m sensing a definite Star Wars/Trek theme here… 🙂
I forgot, one other thing I know about Australia is that they have hunky guys with yummy accents, like Eric Bana!
Megan, it’s worth it to see Pirates 3 if you’ve followed the series thus far (I adored the first movie, thought the second was okay, had to see what happened). And it would definitely be worth it to lose the video game talk for 3 hours! It was just very, very long, and, oddly since it was one huge action scene after another, dull. Johnny Depp behaved suspiciously like he was just walking through the movie (Jack Sparrow on downers–it’s missing something). But I saw a trailer for Becoming Jane!
I’m just going to say it: I was pretty damn happy with POTC III. *ducks* There were some plot holes that made me crazy (mostly with the romance of Davy Jones) but overall, I liked it (but then I HATED Knightly’s P&P so what do I know, LOL!).
The call for women for Australia was right around 1788/9, and features as the threat that hangs over the heroine of my second book. Her brother and ex-husband think shipping her off would be far less trouble than dealing with the scandal she’s about to cause . . .
Kalen, I was pretty happy with Pirates III too. I also loved the second one–possibly more than the first. I watch the dvds a lot, and I love the commentary by the writers (hopefully they’ll do a commentary for III). I did a family history project in high school and was able to construct a family tree on my dad’s side going back to England in the early 1600s, which was fun.
Clearly differences of opinion here! I loved the first Pirates movie, was disappointed by Pirates 2, and really enjoyed Pirates #3!
And those pendants are cool!
BTW, Amanda, I thought Strictly Ballroom was a fun, fun movie. So, are you telling me that’s not reality Down Under??? 🙂
Cara
Okay. I have to confess, the first Pirates movie (which I watched twice on a plane to England) was okay, but not good enough for me to even have the remotest interest in seeing the others.
I don’t see many movies but when I like one I see it multiple times–like 300 (4 times), P&P (4 times).
Lois,
I didn’t know you were a Trekkie! Captain Kirk in the TV series was my hero!! I used to be able to recite the dialogue….
“Who put the tribbles in the tradakritalaylie” (or however it is spelled!!!)
Diane, it’s “quadrotriticale.” 🙂
Cara
Quick, must…derail…Star Trek Quote thread…before it spins…out…of…control!! 🙂
Sorry, I shouldn’t say things like that–I was quoting Monty Python not too long ago, which is even more anti-social. A propos of which: Now For Something Completely Different.
I find the story of how Australia was colonized almost unbelievable. Load up a bunch of convicts onto ships and send them halfway around the world to a place that had been visited exactly once, years before. Incredible that it didn’t end in utter disaster.
I liked Pirates 3 (which I just saw today) better than 2, but not as well as 1. I liked Spider-Man 3 less well than either 2 or 1. I have yet to see Shrek 3. Ocean’s 13 hasn’t come out yet, and nor has Fantastic Four 2. Hmm. Am I detecting a trend?
Actually, today I saw a preview for The Golden Compass, which looked very cool. So I’m definitely looking forward to that.
Todd-who-is-and-remains-the-one-and-only
LOL! P3 was very far from the worst movie I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t “First Knight” (my gauge for how deeply bad a movie can be!). I just get very upset when filmmakers don’t see things “my way.” 🙂
Todd, feel free to quote Monty Python, Star Trek, etc whenever you like. You’re among friends here. 🙂
Amanda wrote:
LOL! P3 was very far from the worst movie I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t “First Knight” (my gauge for how deeply bad a movie can be!).
Back when Cara was writing film reviews, we saw some truly terrible movies. I remember the time someone observed to me that Battlefield Earth might be the worst movie ever made. I was able to reply, “Buddy, it wasn’t even the worst movie made this year!” 🙂
Todd-who-is-glad-we-can-now-skip-most-of-the-really-bad-movies
Hellllo Riskies, I’m back from vacation!
A biiig congratulations to Amanda!! And those bottlecap pedants are very cute!
I loved Strictly Ballroom anc thought it was fairly representative of the youth culture in the big cities of Ozzieland. Perhaps Anna Campbell can comments more.
So Amanda, is your next book based in Australia?
I have yet to see PotC3. And I’m not sure when we’ll see it since our babysitter is out of the country for a few weeks. I’m trying to avoid all movie reviews and discussions in the hopes of keeping the movie fresh for me. :}
After seeing Pirates 3 I now have a new and useful phrase for unlikely plot devices for plot holes.
Sea Turtles.
I quite enjoyed the scene with Cap’n Jack in Davy Jones’ locker, going insane. And I loved the costumes. Ideally I would have preferred a more character-driven story, but hey, it’s Hollywood. There were some great one-liners.
And since on my mother’s side I’m a direct descendant of Cotton Mather, I figured I’d best leave the ancestor thing alone.
And since on my mother’s side I’m a direct descendant of Cotton Mather
How fascinating, Jane! Did you learn about him from your family when you were a kid?
Cara
Cara,
Yes. There are several small graveyards in Wisconsin where members of that particular branch of that particular family are buried. That ancestor was a Point of Pride among those Puritan prairie farmers, and he’s always mentioned at funerals.
I’ve never been to Salem. Someday I’ll go, when I’m feeling really up and solidly impervious to both heavy history and Laurie Cabot.(The current, reigning Witch of Salem.)
Jane George wrote:
And since on my mother’s side I’m a direct descendant of Cotton Mather, I figured I’d best leave the ancestor thing alone.
Huh! I lived in Mather House when I went to college–named for Increase Mather, though, rather than his son Cotton. The motto of the weekly house newsletter was “To Increase Mather’s Spirit,” which I thought was pretty clever. 🙂
Todd-who-plans-to-name-his-sons-Enlarge-and-Polyester
Congrats, Amanda!
I saw a bit of the documentary, including the Newgate cells episode, and I also recommend the book by Sian Rees “The Floating Brothel”–I think she contributed much of the material.
As for geneaology, the ancestors on my mother’s side were farmers and then market gardeners in Kent for centuries–their famiy name was Westbrook and there’s a mention of one in the Doomsday book in Bromley, Kent. Harriet Westbrook, Shelley’s unfortunate wife, may have been related tho we haven’t found the evidence. Talk about inbreeding.