I was sad to hear the news today that Robert Hughes, Australian critic, historian and author (among other things) died in New York today, aged 74. (ABC news)
Robert Hughes was the author of my favourite book on Australian history, The Fatal Shore.
This book is fascinatingly written, and explores the reasons why Australia was used as a penal colony, the hardships suffered by the convicts transported to Australia and the society created by such events.
Robert Hughes had a great knack of writing truly interesting stories from different points of view, and the ability to really give you the feel of the hard lives lived by our ancestors.
I have The Fatal Shore in my kindle, but I love this book so much that the caravan has its own copy just in case the kindle lets me down when we are away in the bush. I can’t tell you how many times I have read it. Hearing the news of his passing has inspired me to pull it out again. Thank you Mr. Hughes, RIP.
