One Free Woman : The True Story of Convict Hannah Rigby

These women are twice convicted, and among them are no doubt some of the most depraved of their sex. -- James Backhouse.

‘A heartbreaking and compelling story of a spirited convict woman.’

Hannah Rigby was a poor Liverpool seamstress, a prisoner and a serial thief. Exiled from her homeland, oppressed by poverty and rigid social mores, used and discarded by a series of men. An “exemplary” servant who was fond of a lark – and a single mother determined to keep her family together.

One Free Woman tells the compelling true story of the only female convict to stay in Moreton Bay when the penal settlement closed – a woman who notoriously served three separate sentences of transportation, including two at one of the harshest establishments in the country.

It is a heartbreaking and sensitively told story of a life that was typical of many women of the time struggling against poverty and gender inequality – women whose voices throughout history have seldom been heard.

One Free Woman reveals new information and celebrates a remarkable woman who, despite a lifetime of immeasurable suffering and loss, could still summon the joy to dance until she dropped.

‘A fascinating portrait of an extraordinary life.’

Sophie Masson AM, award-winning author