'Though the focus might seem narrow, this is an illuminating work of history. It contains within it glimpses and echoes of lives long-forgotten that speak across time with great power.' - Sydney Morning Herald
'Robin Haines' story is a microcosm of Victorian hierarchy: class, racial and sectarian feeling on the one hand, and on the other the integrity and generosity displayed by paternalism at its most high-minded.' - The Melbourne Age
'Robin Haines's excellent little study of nineteenth-century emigrant voyages to Australia from Britain cogently captures the perils of such expeditions...the book is rich in revealing anecdotes.' - Christopher Lawrence, Times Literary Supplement
'...I have realized, through reading Robin Haines's excellent study of oceanic voyages, how little I actually know about what happens in that long interval between ports...This is a slim, beautifully-written volume. One hopes that there is yet more to be gained from such carefully detailed studies.' - Maureen Lux, Medical History