The fatal confluence of events, the fantastic interweaving of destinies, the adventures of the novel's heroes on a ship and on an island that turned out to be uninhabited, the thirst for wealth, deceit and boundless love, the impressive imagery of the descriptions inherent in “pirate” novels, make the reader think that everything read is pure author's invention. And yet, we are brought back to reality by the depth and psychologism of human experiences, as well as the testimony of the author himself that “events and facts are truly monstrous and tragic, but my goal was to show them, because they all happened in reality.”

The novel "Sentenced for Life" is the most famous among Australian novels of the 19th century. Was filmed.