A Lady in Irons

England and Parramatta from 1814

Katy is in mourning after her husband dies in a shooting accident. Barely coping, she awaits the birth of their child. If it's a girl, she must hand the family home over to her husband's brother. The day after giving birth, she is literally left on the side of the road with a newborn child. She collapses and is found by her distant cousin, whom she thought had died in a fire ten years before. Perry, badly scarred himself, nurses her back to health. They marry and move in with her widowed friend, Mary. 

After some years, she walks in on her husband and friend in each other's arms. Now living in a love triangle, and she flees. Grasping the only straw available, she intentionally gets arrested so that she can be sent to a colony far away. By doing this her marriage can be annulled. 

What happens in the Colony is not what she expects. Governor Macquarie comes to her rescue. The colony changes not only her life but the lives of many.

But what of Perry and her children?

This story was inspired by Susannah Riley/Narin who was convicted while pregnant and gave birth to her son John in Rio De Janerio on the way out to the colony.

As I wished to do a story about the building of the Female Factory, and this of course involved Governor Lachlan Macquarie.  He was one amazing man and I wished to honor the work he did for our infant colony.

I have used his personal diaries as my primary source of information - they are availab efree online.

https://www.mq.edu.au/macquarie-archive/lema/1816/1816april.html


https://www.visitsydneyaustralia.com.au/history-7-macquarie.html

So good that I made two movie trailers!   Watch them both!