LEGACY OF VAN DIEMEN’S LAND - From the civilised society of Somerset to the wilds of the Australian goldfields, after being transported for life to Van Diemen's Land for rape and infanticide, our antagonist, Nathan Meakins is challenged to return to reap revenge on his nemesis. 

SYNOPSIS:

Legacy of Van Diemen’s Land follows on from Dawn to Deadly Nightshade, the sequel to Brandy Row, and is the third in the collection of West Country tales. Set in the mid-nineteenth century, it flits from Portland, to Yeovil, to Van Diemen’s Land and Southern Australia following the lives of the offspring of Matthew and Violet Stone and Richard Dryer, characters from the two previous novels.

The tale involves the tragedies, heartaches, celebrations and traditions relating to that era. It includes the struggle against mortal diseases, such as cholera and typhus in Somerset and on the battlefields of the Crimean War, the fight against poverty and the threat of the workhouse.

The evil Nathan Meakins finally gets his comeuppance when he is transported to the antipodes, but the story does not end there, as he vows to reap revenge on his adversary Joshua Dryer, Lord of the Manor of Alvington. In his determination to return to Somerset and settle the score, other innocent people become embroiled in his devious plans and suffer tragic consequences.

The story describes the lives of the men on the convict transportation vessels and how Meakins soon makes sure he is feared by his fellow prisoners. It illustrates the British penal system in Van Diemen’s Land, the excitement and lawlessness of the Victorian Goldfields and the adverse effect on the lives of the native aborigines. There are, in addition to the main story, various love interests, superstition, sex, violence, rape, and murder.

LEGACY OF VAN DIEMEN'S LAND (3RD NOVEL IN THE HEART OF STONE SERIES, ALSO ADAPTED AS A SCREENPLAY