Letters from van Dieman's Land

£375 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

Wait’s involvement in events prior to the Canadian revolution of 1837-8, resulted in a charge of high treason and a death sentence. Half an hour before he was due to be hanged, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Wait was transported to Van Diemen’s Land, though had already escaped to New York before he received word of his pardon. These letters comprise a valuable account of life within the penal system and include descriptions of landscape, agriculture and customs and habits of the local Aborigines. Wait’s pardon resulted solely from the efforts of his wife, who sadly died not long after they were reunited. Ferguson, 3762.

• Year: 1843

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