For the Term of His Natural Life: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

For the Term of His Natural Life, credited to Marcus Clarke, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke For the Term of his Natural Life, written by Marcus Clarke, was published in the Australian Journal between 1870 and 1872 (as His Natural Life), appearing as a novel in 1874. It is the best known novelisation of life as a convict in early Australian history. Described as a "ripping yarn", and at times relying on seemingly implausible coincidences, the story follows the fortunes of Rufus Dawes, a young man transported for a murder which he did not commit. The harsh and inhumane treatment meted out to the convicts, some of whom were transported for relatively minor crimes, is clearly conveyed. The conditions experienced by the convicts are graphically described. The novel was based on research by the author as well as a visit to the penal settlement of Port Arthur, Tasmania (Wikipedia)

Recording facts

• Recording title: For the Term of His Natural Life
• Author credits: Marcus Clarke
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 76
• Listed recording duration: 18:20:32

Catalogue topics

• fiction
• historical
• novel
• action
• marcus
• clarke
• natural life
• audio books

Opening tracks: first 24 of 76

1. 00 - Dedication and Prologue — 24:51
2. 01 - Book 01 - The Sea 1827 Chapter 01 - The Prison Ship — 17:02
3. 02 - Book 01 - The Sea. 1827. Chapter 02 - Sarah Purfoy — 15:56
4. 03 - Book 01 - The Sea 1827. Chapter 03 - The Monotony Breaks — 6:14
5. 04 - Book 01 - The Sea 1827. Chapter 04 - The Hospital — 9:28
6. 05 - Book 01 - The Sea 1827. Chapter 05 - The Barracoon — 14:10
7. 06 - Book 01 – The Sea. 1827. Chapter 06 – The Fate Of The Hydaspes — 22:42
8. 07 - Book 01 – The Sea. 1827. Chapter 07 – Typhus Fever — 18:06
9. 08 - Book 01 – The Sea. 1827. Chapter 08 - A Dangerous Crisis — 15:50
10. 09 - Book 01 - The Sea. 1827. Chapter 09 - Woman's Weapons — 11:13
11. 10 - Book 01 - The Sea. 1827. Chapter 10 - Eight Bells — 16:11
12. 11 - Book 01 - The Sea. 1827. Chapter 11 - Discoveries And Confessions — 10:52
13. 12 - Book 01 - The Sea. 1827. Chapter 12 - A Newspaper Paragraph — 1:27
14. 13 - Book 02 - Macquarie Harbour 1833. Chapter 01 - The Topography of Van Dieman's Land — 7:14
15. 14 - Book 02 - Macquarie Harbour 1833. Chapter 02 - The Solitary of — 7:35
16. 15 - Book 02 - Macquarie Harbour 1833. Chapter 03 - A Social Evening — 22:31
17. 16 - Book 2 - Macquarie Harbour 1833. Chapter 04 - The Bolter — 7:15
18. 17 - Book 2 - Macquarie Harbour, 1833. Chapter 05 - Sylvia — 6:44
19. 18 - Book 2 - Macquarie Harbour, 1833. Chapter 06 - A Leap in the Dark — 17:00
20. 19 - Book 02 - Macquarie Harbour, 1833. Chapter 07 - The Last of Macquarie Harbour — 10:48
21. 20 - Book 2 - Macquarie Harbout, 1833. Chapter 08 - The Power of the Wilderness — 13:52
22. 21 - Book 02 - Macquarie Harbour, 1833. Chapter 09 - The Seizure of the Osprey — 12:26
23. 22 - Book 02 - Macquarie Harbour. 1833. Chapter 10 - John Rex's Revenge — 14:53
24. 23 - Book 02 – Macquarie Harbour. 1833. Chapter 11 – Left At Hells Gates — 28:33

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.