By 1848 famine has ravaged Ireland, and London remains undecided about what to do. A shortage of female labour in Australia offers a kind of solution and so, over the following two years, more than 4000 Irish girls are shipped across vast oceans to an unimaginable world in the new colony. On Sunday 28 October 1849, one of these ships, the Thomas Arbuthnot, sets sail from Plymouth with a cargo of girls under the care of Surgeon-superintendent Charles Strutt.
Not the Same Sky tells the story of Honora, Julia, Bridget and Anne. It observes them on the voyage, examining their relationship of trust with Charles Strutt, and follows them from Sydney as they become women of Australia, negotiating their new lives as best they can. A stark, poetic intensity gives these young women historical importance and human presence in an elegant and subtle novel suffused with humour.
'Conlon is one of Ireland's major truly creative writers.' - Books Ireland
Evelyn Conlon is a novelist, short-story writer and radio essayist. Born in Ireland, she lived in Australia for a number of years. Her last novel Skin of Dreams was shortlisted for Irish Novel of the Year. The title story of her collection Taking Scarlet as a Real Colour was performed at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival. She is a member of Aosdana, the fellowship of honoured artists in Ireland, and lives in Dublin.
