A review by freemajo
The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes

4.0

4.5 stars rounded down
Hughes shines a light on the founding of Australia as a distant penal colony for Britain by illuminating hundreds of first hand accounts from the convicts, lawmen, and sailors alike. His expansive vocabulary and use of references alternates between being a delight and a bit much, and in the end the work feels overlong yet just right, if that makes sense.