Thief, Convict, Pirate, Wife: The Many Histories of Charlotte Badger

Description

Charlotte Badger is a woman around whom many stories have been woven: the thief sentenced to death in England and then transported to New South Wales; the pirate who joined a mutiny to take a ship to the Bay of Islands; the first white woman resident in Aotearoa; the wife of a rangatira, and many more. In this remarkable piece of historical detective work, Jennifer Ashton shows what we know about Charlotte Badger, and how the stories about her have shifted over time. From a Worcester courtroom to the outskirts of Sydney, from the English countryside to Wairoa Bay, Ashton brings to life the maritime and wider imperial world of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries – and the convicts and runaways, sailors and soldiers, governors and missionaries who filled that world. The author shows how history and historical figures like Charlotte Badger are made and remade over time by journalists and historians, painters and playwrights. Thief, Convict, Pirate, Wife tells the fascinating story of a remarkable, curious, ordinary woman and her place in history. Front Cover Title Page Half Title Copyright Dedication Contents Introduction The Accused The Convict The Pirate The Beach Crosser The Army Wife The Histories of Charlotte Badger Notes Bibliography Acknowledgements Index About the Author Back Cover