This Savage World (Forgotten women Book 1)

This Savage World follows Maggie Bloodworth, a London midwife whose theft of clothing in 1790 sets her on a path of survival and exile. Banished to a penal colony, she is sent from England to Sydney Cove, Norfolk Island, and Van Diemen's Land, driven by the need to return to her abandoned daughter while haunted by her mother's dying vision that she carries a dark seed. Throughout her journey, Maggie must navigate impossible moral choices in a world where right and wrong blur—including decisions about adultery, bigamy, and dispossessing others of their land. She struggles to remain a good person amid deprivation and cruelty, until a letter reveals a devastating lie at the heart of everything she has fought for and exposes a betrayal by the man she has come to love. Based on a real person and historical events, the novel explores how individuals make choices in desperate circumstances and asks whether we can truly judge the decisions of others. It portrays a woman determined to resist the forces of her time while building community foundations for a new nation, examining themes of resilience, sacrifice, and the power of refusing to let fate determine one's course.