Edward Britton

By Gary Crew

2000

First Published

3.42

Average Rating

256

Number of Pages

7H49M

Audio Length

A dramatic story based on the historical fact of Point Puer, the boys' prison at Port Arthur, Tasmania. A boy convict, Edward Britton, 17, is the main character. He is good-looking, literate and well educated, compared to the other boys, and has been a Shakespearian child actor in London. He was transported for stealing from the acting troupe's kitty. He attracts the attention of the daughter of the brutal Point Puer Commandant and a love affair develops. The girl's stepmother is jealous and makes Edward's life hell. A subplot revolves around an Irish convict boy, Izod, whose parents were killed by British troops during the food riots of the potato famine. Reduced to theft to survive, he was transported for stealing food. To his amazement, the Commandant is the same British Officer who killed his parents back in Ireland. He has a deep-seated hatred of the British generally and the Commandant in particular, and he plots revenge. The theme is study of tyrannical power which can be wielded by adults (and sometimes other children) who are placed in authority over the most disempowered, helpless and exploited members of society - the children.

Avg Rating

3.42

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

25%

4 STARS

23%

3 STARS

31%

2 STARS

13%

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

Gary Crew

Author · 39 books

Dr Gary Crew, author of novels, short stories and picture books for older children and young adults, began his writing career in 1985, when he was a high school teacher. His books are challenging and intriguing, often based on non-fiction. As well as writing fiction, Gary is a Associate Professor in Creative Writing, Children's and Adult Literature, at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland and editor of the After Dark series. He lives with his wife Christine on several acres in the cool, high mountains of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in Queensland, Australia in a house called 'Green Mansions' which is shaded by over 200 Australian rainforest palms he has cultivated. He enjoys gardening, reading, and playing with his dogs Ferris, Beulah, and Miss Wendy. In his spare time he has created an Australian Rainforest Garden around his home, filled with Australian palms. Gary loves to visit antique shops looking for curios and beautiful objects. Gary Crew has been awarded the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the year four times: twice for Book of the Year for Young Adult Older Readers (Strange Objects in 1991 and Angel’s Gate in 1993) and twice for Picture Book of the Year with First Light in 1993 (illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe) and The Watertower (illustrated by Steven Woolman) in 1994. Gary’s illustrated book, Memorial (with Shaun Tan) was awarded the Children’s Book Council of Australia Honour Book in 2000 and short listed for the Queensland Premier’s Awards. He has also won the Wilderness Society Award, the Whitley Award and the Aurealis Award for Speculative Fiction. In the USA he has been twice short listed for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Mystery Fiction Award for Youth and the Hungry Minds Review American Children’s Book of distinction. In Europe he has twice been and twice the prestigious White Raven Award for his illustrated books. Among his many Australian awards is the Ned Kelly Prize for Crime Fiction, the New South Wales Premier’s Award and the Victorian Premier’s Award. He has been short listed for both the Queensland Premier’s and the Western Australian Premier’s awards for Fiction.