Reviews for Basic mathematics

The average rating for Basic mathematics based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-11-11 00:00:00 Gabriel Mogosanu If you make it past the first 10-20 pages which list in a quite boring way the names of convicts and some details of their crimes, this is an absolutely brilliant book. Extensive and painstaking research is evident throughout the book and this covers all aspects of the story of the convicts, from an explanation of 18th-century British law to life on board the ship to the creation of new colonies. All is presented in an enjoyable and captivating way. Where details are the result of research regarding records that do not directly relate to the voyage of the Lady Julian this is pointed out in advance; anyway, I found them all to be very relevant to the story and describing situations that were probably very similar to that of the female convicts on that particular ship, chosen because it is one of the few convict ships whose adventure is described in a first-hand account of one of the officials on board. Personally I found his story quite moving, and together with the accurate research and the detailed and entertaining accounts of life on board and of the lives of some of the women where these are available I consider them the strong points of this book. Once I got past those first few pages, I couldn't put it down. Really recommended.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-08-22 00:00:00 Matt Franzblau This maritime adventure delivers a boatload of salty women convicts, of varying degrees of guilt, from London to New South Wales in 1789 due to overcrowding in England’s gaols. The author provides the unique perspective of the female experience, which is more than welcome, and in fact vastly overlooked in written histories. The title is misleading and this narrative is not as salacious as we might be led to believe, thankfully. The wonder of the world that these previously land bound women breathed is fascinating to consider on a number of levels and I won’t easily forget this tale.