A Cargo of Women traces the chequered story of one hundred women transported together in 1829 on the ship Princess Royal. Caught in an England convulsed by change, they become the unwitting and unwilling pioneers of a new land. Through imaginative use if detailed research, Babette Smith presents a personalized view of this group of women. She traces their stories, presenting us with a patchwork image of individual lives that are both rich and varied, and often poignantly tragic. We encounter their despair at being parted from their families and particular concern for the children left behind, their experiences of assigned service in the colony, the marriages that could provide salvation or the ... more