A review by jillianbald
Fled by Meg Keneally
Fled is a fictional tale of real life convict and heroine Mary Bryant, and her ordeal when sent to the newly settled English colony of Australia.
In the novel, Mary is called Jenny. The dramas and setbacks the characters faced could have broken anyone, real or fictional, but Jenny persevered to gain her freedom.
Jenny was meant to be a sympathetic heroine. She was an example of the unjust plight of women in the 18th century Western world. Jenny was a fighter, for herself and her babies.
I had expected to be more connected to Jenny and her struggle than I was. As a fictional story, the opportunity was there to really tug at a reader's heartstrings. I yearned for more emotional struggle and insight from the major characters on the pages; more detailed and colorful descriptions of the dangerous new world where Jenny and the others were dumped; more anguish and drama for their desperate situation.
*** This next paragraph is about the how the book ends.***
There isn’t a lot known about Mary Bryant’s true demise, except she did make it back to England—broken and practically feral. Meg Keneally noted that she gave Jenny “the ending I feel Mary deserves” in the epilogue. The conclusion would have felt more authentic without this final Cinderella ending, considering how broken Jenny must have been, both physically and mentally. The happily ever after seemed mismatched. Jenny lived in a dog-eat-dog world where the underdogs didn’t come out on top. I would have been satisfied with a more dramatic “winner-loses-all” outcome for Jenny and her fellow convicts.
In the novel, Mary is called Jenny. The dramas and setbacks the characters faced could have broken anyone, real or fictional, but Jenny persevered to gain her freedom.
Jenny was meant to be a sympathetic heroine. She was an example of the unjust plight of women in the 18th century Western world. Jenny was a fighter, for herself and her babies.
I had expected to be more connected to Jenny and her struggle than I was. As a fictional story, the opportunity was there to really tug at a reader's heartstrings. I yearned for more emotional struggle and insight from the major characters on the pages; more detailed and colorful descriptions of the dangerous new world where Jenny and the others were dumped; more anguish and drama for their desperate situation.
*** This next paragraph is about the how the book ends.***
There isn’t a lot known about Mary Bryant’s true demise, except she did make it back to England—broken and practically feral. Meg Keneally noted that she gave Jenny “the ending I feel Mary deserves” in the epilogue. The conclusion would have felt more authentic without this final Cinderella ending, considering how broken Jenny must have been, both physically and mentally. The happily ever after seemed mismatched. Jenny lived in a dog-eat-dog world where the underdogs didn’t come out on top. I would have been satisfied with a more dramatic “winner-loses-all” outcome for Jenny and her fellow convicts.