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South of Darkness

by John Marsden

Narrator Paul English

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Length 12 hours 38 minutes

Language English

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Summary
About the author
About the narrator

Thirteen-year-old Barnaby Fletch is a bag-and-bones orphan in London in the late 1700s.

Barnaby lives on his wits and ill-gotten gains, on streets seething with the press of the throng and shadowed by sinister figures. Life is a precarious business.

When he hears of a paradise on the other side of the world – a place called Botany Bay – he decides to commit a crime and get himself transported to a new life, a better life.

To succeed, he must survive the trials of Newgate Prison, the stinking hull of a prison ship and the unknown terrors of a journey across the world.

And Botany Bay is far from the paradise Barnaby has imagined. When his past and present suddenly collide, he is soon fleeing for his life – once again.

A riveting story of courage, hope and extraordinary adventure.

Fiction Historical Fiction

John Marsden was born in Victoria, Australia and from an early age enjoyed reading. At nine years old, he decided he wanted to become an author. John’s first book, So Much to Tell You, was published in 1987 and was followed by a string of huge hits, highlighted by the Tomorrow series and The Ellie Chronicles. John has now sold more than two and a half million books in Australia alone, and is an international bestseller with many major awards to his credit.

Paul English is an actor and narrator based in Melbourne who has appeared in more than 40 productions with major Australian theatre companies. Some highlights include Shakespeare's Hamlet, Chekhov’s Ivanov and Stoppard's Arcadia. Paul's television credits include SeaChange, Curtin and Gallipoli. His narration of Li Cunxin's Mao's Last Dancer and Coming Rain by Stephen Daisley have both won AudioFile Earphones Awards.