author
Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke
1846–1881
Best known for the powerful novel For the Term of His Natural Life, this English-born Australian writer helped shape early Australian literature. He wrote with energy across fiction, journalism, poetry, and drama, and his work is still remembered for its vivid picture of colonial life.
1 Audiobook
For the Term of His Natural Life
by Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke
About the author
Born in London on April 24, 1846, Marcus Clarke moved to Melbourne in 1863 after his father's death. In Australia he tried several occupations before making his name as a journalist and man of letters, building a lively career as a novelist, poet, editor, playwright, and librarian.
His most famous book, For the Term of His Natural Life (published in 1874), is a grim, gripping story about the convict system and is widely regarded as a classic of Australian literature. Clarke also wrote for newspapers and magazines and became an important voice in Melbourne's literary world during the late nineteenth century.
He died in St Kilda, Victoria, on August 2, 1881, at just 35 years old. Though his life was short, his writing left a lasting mark, especially for readers interested in the darker side of Australia's colonial past.