For the Term of his Natural Life

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For the Term of his Natural Life, a novel written by Marcus Clarke in 1874, 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.

Structurally, For the Term of His Natural Life is made up of a series of semi-fictionalised accounts of actual events during the convict era, loosely bound together with the tragic story of its hero. Most of the incidents and many of the individual characters are easily identifiable from historical sources including Marcus Clarke's own non-fiction work Old Tales of a Young Country. The spoiler illustrated below is based on the escape of Alexander Pearce, the notorious "Pieman", who ate his companions during two different escape attempts from the Macquarie Harbour penal settlement on Tasmania's West Coast.

Typical of Victorian-era convict novels, Rufus Dawes, is a wrongfully convicted gentleman. Under the prevailing morality of the time, a murderer would have been inappropriate for a hero in popular fiction.

The original tragic ending was considered unsuitable for readers in the United States of America, as a result of which Marcus Clarke added additional chapters taking the story up to the Victorian gold rush for US editions. Most modern publications and film media presentations of the story have been based on the US edition.

For the Term of His Natural Life was the basis for one of the first full-length motion pictures films, produced in Australia in 1908 (22 minutes). A major Hollywood movie featuring silent screen stars George Fisher and Eva Novak was produced in 1927, and a TV movie was produced in Australia in 1983 starring Colin Friels as Dawes. The Australian movie His Convict Bride aka For the Term of Her Natural Life (1918) also alluded to Clarke's work.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In the story, Dawes escapes from Port Arthur with two other convicts. Getting lost in the wilderness, the men begin to starve, and end up eating each other. Dawes eventually returns to civilisation, with the half-eaten arm of one of his comrades hanging out of his swag.