MARY ANN

One autumn evening in 1848, 16-year-old Mary Ann Gill stole out of her bedroom window in her father's pub in Sydney's Circular Quay and took a coach to a nearby race course where she was to meet her dashing suitor James Kinchela. But her father got there first, shot at Kinchela and only narrowly missed, resulting in a scandalous colonial abduction trial.

Mary Ann was a feisty woman, and her adventures didn't end there. Soon after her family headed to San Francisco following the gold rush, as did Kinchela. She survived a shipwreck, married her man, had two children; whilst Kinchela made his fortune from selling leather goods. After his sudden death Mary Ann returned to Australia in 1870 as the wife of Charles Beatty, who turned out to have married her for her money. Mary Ann eventually escaped to New Caledonia to grow sugar cane, only to suffer failures and return home destitute. She lived out the rest of her days running a school for young ladies in New South Wales. Interwoven with connected stories of romance and abduction, Kiera Lindsey shines a light on women's experience of love and marriage in the 19th century, and the barriers which stood in their way. KIERA LINDSEY lectures in Australian history at the University of South Australia. She presents a monthly history program on ABC radio, and a column 'Dr K's Curious Chronicles' in Adelaide Review. She was winner of the inaugural Greg Denning History Prize, 2009.