My Name is Lizzie Flynn: A Story of the Rajah Quilt by Claire Saxby & Lizzy Newcomb
In 1841 Lizzie Flynn is being transported on the ship The Rajah from England to Australia. Her punishment for stealing a shawl is to serve seven years as a convict in the penal colony of Van Diemen’s Land. Ship life is hard and as she struggles with it Lizzie is befriended by Mollie, who teaches her how to sew so she can join the other women in making a quilt for the Governor’s wife. The conditions on those long voyages were cramped, unhygienic and diseases such as cholera were rife. Sadly, Mollie dies, leaving Lizzie to start her new life in a strange land on her own.
The story is based on true events and after being lost for 147 years, The Rajah Quilt is now in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Hauntingly told and beautifully illustrated, Lizzie’s story will resonate with a young and older audience. For readers aged 5 and up.