Shrouded in secrecy and unwarranted shame, the story of Amelia Ellen Peters came as a surprise to her living relatives. Born in abject poverty to a single mother, who was herself orphaned at an early age, this account follows the passage of Amelia Ellen through the Workhouse, various family tragedies and ultimately to her premature death in the Cornwall County Lunatic asylum in Bodmin. The fortunes of her ancestors are seen to be closely bound to the vagaries of the Cornish mining industry of the 18th and 19th centuries. The history of her hitherto unknown father also extends the story to give a glimpse into the lives of the Cornish mining communities of Australia.