From horse thief to the merchant queen of Sydney Cove – how did one woman rise so far? 

‘It is a harsh land – yes, for you especially – but people can also rise here …’ 

 Born into poverty in eighteenth-century England, her future was predetermined. But throughout her life Molly Thistle refused to follow the path laid out before her. Her headstrong nature, disdain for convention and desire for freedom were always destined to determine her fate. 

 Following her involvement in a fatal childhood prank, Molly dresses as a boy and flees on a stolen horse. Her new-found freedom ends with her arrest and an uncertain journey towards Britain’s farthest prison colony. 

 Undaunted, Molly navigates her way through a society that denies power to her sex and scorns those who have not ‘arrived free’. Her quick wit, resilience and ambition will attract the love of her life and the opportunity to forge a commercial empire. And those very same characteristics will create enemies intent on destroying all that she has battled to build for herself and her family. 

 Inspired by historical figures and actual events, Free shines a light on the indomitable figure who first made her appearance in The Wreck. In a story told with warmth and compassion for those who struggled, survived and sometimes even prevailed – and for those who did not – Meg Keneally once again brings the complexity and brutality of colonial Australia vividly to life.