- Listenly
- Public Library
- All Authors
- James Hardy Vaux
author
James Hardy Vaux
b. 1782
An English convict, memoirist, and compiler of slang, he left behind one of the most vivid first-person accounts of crime, punishment, and transportation in the early Australian colonial world. His writing is remembered for its sharp detail, hard-earned experience, and unusual window into the language of the underworld.
1 Audiobook
Memoirs of James Hardy Vaux. Written by himself.
by James Hardy Vaux
About the author
Born in 1782, he became known for a life that moved from London crime to transportation and colonial service in New South Wales. He is best remembered for Memoirs of James Hardy Vaux, a firsthand narrative that traces his repeated convictions, voyages, and years in the penal system.
His name is also closely tied to A New and Comprehensive Vocabulary of the Flash Language, an early dictionary of criminal slang. That work gives modern readers a rare look at the language used in the underworld of his time and helps explain why he remains interesting not only to historians of Australia, but also to readers curious about slang, class, and survival.
What makes his work stand out is its directness. Rather than writing from a distance, he described the world he knew from the inside, which gives his memoir a raw, immediate quality that still feels distinctive today.