[1][2] "How the ship Pride of Liverpool became a derelict from which only two of the company were saved, one being the girl Elizabeth Holley, about whom the novel revolves.

"[3] The Age said "The entertaining story swings along, a happy way to discuss the convict system and its various unsavory off- shoots and the efforts to control these evils.

Occasionally, seeming to be steeped in history, the author halts the narrative to add a slab that holds up the movement for a short space.

"[4] The Australian Woman's Mirror said "As ever, Mr. Timms sets his characters against an authentically historic background, in which convictism and its related sordid evils are contrasted with the high ideals of the visionaries and the gaiety of the society of that era.

"[5] The Bulletin said "Taken at its highest level, the book is a prettv thin story superimposed on pretty thick history; but its total effect is of a very lively picture of Sydney in the days of Governor Bourke.