Death Ships - Life and Death on Six Big Emigrant Ships

My book 'Death Ships' continues to attract good reviews. A reviewer (Sassy Reviews) recently posted a great review on Goodreads as follows:

“DEATH SHIPS: The story of life and death on six big emigrant ships" by Doug Limbrick offers a compelling dive into history. Following the 1851 gold rush in Australia, a wave of emigration swept across Britain, sending thousands on perilous sea voyages to the Australian colonies.

Conditions aboard these ships, especially for steerage passengers, were notoriously poor, prompting the Emigration Commission to assign a surgeon superintendent to oversee each voyage. Seasickness and unsanitary living quarters plagued the travellers. In 1852, six North American-built ships—Wanata, Beejapore, Marco Polo, Shackamaxon, Ticonderoga, and Bourneuf—were used to transport nearly 5,000 emigrants from Britain to Australia. This book explores the development and acquisition of these vessels and the experiences of those on board.

Before reading, I had little knowledge of how emigration to Australia unfolded during this period, but Limbrick’s detailed narrative brought it to life. The cover design is striking, and the title perfectly captures the essence of the book. It's a must-read for anyone with a passion for history, and I'm thrilled to have come across this well-researched and engaging book.

There are lots of family historians who have been interested in the six ships that are the focus of the book. The six were clearly very large, newly constructed and fantastic looking vessels but the passengers suffered badly because of the endemic and epidemic diseares of Victorian Britain that found their way on board.