{"product_id":"2026200012805-secondhand-this-peculiar-colony","title":"This Peculiar Colony","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: Worn\/faded, no tears\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the late eighteenth century, a ragged fleet of British ships deposited a cast of convicts, marines, and administrators onto the sun-scorched shores of an ancient and indifferent continent — and from that unlikely beginning, a nation was born. This Peculiar Colony by Ronald Rose chronicles the turbulent and remarkable founding of the Australian penal settlement, tracing the struggles of those first settlers as they confronted starvation, mutiny, and the profound strangeness of a land utterly unlike anything they had known. With illustrations by the celebrated Robert Ingpen lending vivid visual life to the narrative, the book presents the early colonial experience with both dramatic immediacy and historical authority.\n\nRose's account illuminates the deep tensions between power and survival, between imperial ambition and human frailty, that defined the birth of modern Australia. His prose is direct and purposeful, grounding grand historical forces in the lived experiences of individuals — governors, convicts, and soldiers alike — who shaped a society against impossible odds. Enriched by Ingpen's evocative artwork, This Peculiar Colony stands as a compelling portrait of a society forged in hardship, leaving the reader to wonder just how peculiar — and how resilient — that colonial experiment truly was.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49131002560731,"sku":"2026200012805-SECONDHAND","price":20.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/7b9dce82-a681-4536-8b19-fb3150a12abc.png?v=1786594326","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200012805-secondhand-this-peculiar-colony","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}