Published 4th March 2021 by Penguin Michael Joseph.
From the cover of the book:
London, 1841.
The Rajah sails for Australia.
On board are 180 women convicted of petty crimes, sentenced to start a new life half way across the world.
Daughters, sisters, mothers - they'll never see home or family again. Despised and damned, all they have now is each other.
Until the murder. As the fearful hunt for a killer begins, everyone on board is a suspect. The investigation risks tearing their friendships apart . . .
But if the killer isn't found, could it cost them their last chance of freedom?
Based on a real-life voyage, Dangerous Women is a sweeping tale of confinement, hope and the terrible things we do to survive.
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How I love a historical fiction yarn, especially one with a corker of a title, and if it is based on real people and events, all the better - and this one has all the bases covered!
The Rajah sets sail from London in 1841, with 180 women guilty of petty crimes on-board, who are being transported to Van Diemen's Land (now known as Tasmania). As part of an initiative introduced by prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, some of these women are selected by the matron, Miss Kezia Haytor, to take part in a sewing project intended to help them develop their skills in needlework, and aid them in their new start on the other side of the world. Eighteen women join together to make a quilt that will be presented to the Lord and Lady Governor of Van Diemen's Land on their arrival, and Kezia has high hopes that her little band of seamstresses will be well on their way to reform by the time their project is complete.
As the voyage gets underway, Kezia is happy with the progress being made and feels she is really starting to get to know the women in her care. She has developed a close relationship with the ship's captain, Charles Ferguson, which promises to become more, and friendship with the capable ship's doctor, Doctor James Donovan - although she is struggling to find common ground with the boorish Reverend Roland Davies.
When one of her charges is mortally wounded by an unknown attacker, the atmosphere aboard the Rajah becomes tense and menacing. Everyone starts jumping at shadows, and the women convicts are worried that one of them will be blamed for the assault. The search for the dangerous culprit begins in earnest, and the investigation lays bare the trauma these women have suffered in their lives, and the reasons they find themselves on the way to Van Diemen's Land.
The story is told in two timelines which move back and forth between Then, when the voyage began, and Now, following the attack, and also moves between the narratives of Matron Kezia, the victim, and the mysterious Clara who has swapped places with another woman who was destined to travel on the Rajah, in order to escape from the hangman's noose - intriguingly, we do not know which of the women Clara is masquerading as until near the end of the story, which brings in a delicious element of 'guess who' which I found very entertaining.
As the story unfolds, we learn bits and pieces of the lives of our unfortunate women, and the circumstances that have brought them to where they are now. Their stories are those or daughters, sisters and mothers the world over, and are often sad and traumatic - it is also true that their current predicament has by and large been forced upon them by simply being women in a man's world.
Although Kezia is more fortunate than her charges, she has her own sad story of loss, suffering and powerlessness that has brought her on-board the Rajah, and as the investigation progresses, we get a look at how middle class woman are also treated in the nineteenth century. Both Captain Ferguson and Doctor Donovan seem to view her as someone who needs protecting (sometimes from herself), and Reverend Davies often treats her with outright contempt - but Kezia refuses to be bowed by them all.
"The Rajah moves swiftly before a sharp breeze. Her sails show pale against the night sky and black waves catch the light from lanterns on board ship, showing gold edges as they run alongside the hull."
I loved the way Hope Adams tells this tale of murder on the high seas, with the feel of a locked room Agatha Christie mystery and the richness of a Victorian drama. Everything is perfectly paced, with just the right amount of historical detail, romance, tension and menace, and Adams succeeds to throw just enough misdirection your way throughout to make the ending the cleverest of surprises. The little snippets of wonderful descriptive writing about the Rajah herself at the heading of some of the chapters serve to bring her alive as an additional character - and I also loved the descriptions of pieces of fabric included in the quilt, which are somehow very touching.
"Cotton triangle: indigo print with lines of widely spaced chevrons. in between the chevrons, a pattern of yellow flowers and leaves."
But, for me, the best part of this tale is the way the relationships develop between Kezia and her band of needlewomen. In coming together to make the quilt they also find friendship, strength, support and hope for the future, and the quilt itself becomes an emblem for what they have achieved on their journey - imbued as it is with their hard work and emotion. It's brilliant!
Dangerous Women is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer.
About the author:
Hope Adams is the pseudonym of author Adele Geras. She was born in Jerusalem and apent her early childhood in many different countries, such as Nigeria and British North Borneo. She want to Rodean School in Brighton, and from there to St Hilda's College Oxford.
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