Morgan's run

For the first time since her hugely popular bestseller The Thorn Birds captivated millions of readers, Colleen McCollough returns to Australia with a breathtaking new historical saga. It was one of the greater human experiments ever undertaken: to populate an unknown land with the criminal, the unloved and the unwanted of English society. Amid conditions of brutality that paralleled those of slavery, "The First Fleet" was sent to a place no European but the legendary Captain Cook had ever seen. Left to live or die on the hostile Australian continent, these convicts - and their equally isolated guards - occupy the centre of Colleen McCollough's compelling new epic. Richard Morgan - convicted felon and educated, intelligent, resorceful man - finds the will to survive, experience the joys of love, and finally make an increadible mark upon the new frontier. A thoroughly researched historical saga rich in romance, adventure and unforgettable characters, Morgan's Run has the makings of a modern classic.