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Résumé de Pour le terme de sa vie naturelle
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You will love this book if you enjoy big adventure stories with real history underneath, tales of the sea and the bush, and a hero whose loyalty is tested again and again.
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Imagine giving up your name, your fortune and your mother's company in a single evening, all to keep her secret. That is what Richard Devine does on Hampstead Heath in May 1827, when he kneels beside a dying man. He tells the men who seize him that his name is Rufus Dawes, and the name follows him to the far side of the world.
For the Term of His Natural Life is a novel by Marcus Clarke, who wrote it in Australia and died in 1881. He built it from official reports and the accounts of surgeons, settlers and prisoners, and he warns that these terrible events really happened.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A false name given on Hampstead HeathFree
- 2The Malabar sails with a cargo of wild beasts
- 3Sarah Purfoy and the fever below decks
- 4A mutiny fails and Dawes pays the price
- 5Macquarie Harbour and the man on the rock
- 6The Osprey is taken and five are left behind
- 7The wilderness and the coracle
- 8Port Arthur and the price of a hero's story
- 9The system itself is the book's villain
- 10Love, sacrifice and a novel built like a chain
Point clé 1 sur 10
A false name given on Hampstead Heath
The book opens in a garden at North End House, Hampstead, on the evening of 3 May 1827. Sir Richard Devine, a self-made shipbuilder, has just learned that Lord Bellasis is his son Richard's real father. In his rage he orders the young man out of the house and threatens to change his will in favour of his nephew Maurice Frere.
Richard accepts the exile to protect his mother. On the path to the Heath he sees Sir Richard hurry past like a man in a trance. A few steps later he finds Lord Bellasis dying in the heather, with a bloodied whip beside him. Before he can run for help, a dozen drinkers seize him as the killer.
Richard believes his stepfather has done the deed. If he says who he is, his mother is disgraced and the old man hangs, so he gives his name as Rufus Dawes and says nothing more. The whole novel grows from this one act of silence.
A person who hides the truth to protect someone else may find the truth cannot be found again.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
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Questions about Pour le terme de sa vie naturelle
What is For the Term of His Natural Life about?
It follows Rufus Dawes, a young man who gives a false name to protect his mother and is transported as a convict. The story tracks his life through prison ships, Macquarie Harbour, Port Arthur and Norfolk Island.
Is For the Term of His Natural Life a true story?
It is a novel, but Marcus Clarke built it from official reports, surgeons' accounts and records of the Australian penal stations. The places, punishments and conditions are based on real events, though the main characters are invented.
Who are Rufus Dawes and John Rex?
Rufus Dawes is the proud, silent convict at the centre of the story. John Rex is a clever forger and swindler, called the Dandy, who is transported on the same ship and keeps planning his escape.
What does the title mean?
It comes from the sentence given to the hero. For the term of his natural life means for as long as he lives, so the convict has no hope of release and must spend his whole life in the colonies.
What is the main message of the book?
Clarke argues that a system of harsh punishment, run by jailers with no oversight, corrupts both prisoners and guards. He also shows that courage and unselfish love can survive even there.
Cite this edition
Clarke, Marcus Andrew Hislop. For the Term of His Natural Life. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/for-the-term-of-his-natural-life.
Clarke, M. A. H. (2026). For the term of his natural life. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/for-the-term-of-his-natural-life (Original work published 1874)
Clarke, Marcus Andrew Hislop. For the Term of His Natural Life. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/for-the-term-of-his-natural-life.
@book{clarke2026for,
author = {Clarke, Marcus Andrew Hislop},
title = {For the Term of His Natural Life},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/for-the-term-of-his-natural-life},
note = {First published 1874}
}
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