The Michael Howe

First printed in Hobart Town in 1818-1819, this short narrative recounts the career of Michael Howe, a transported convict who escaped in Van Diemen's Land and led a band of bushrangers for about six years. It follows Howe's robberies of settlers, his rise after the death of the outlaw John Whitehead, a brief surrender and later escape, and the hunt that ends with his killing in 1818. The account draws on colonial reports and presents Howe as a murderer at large in a penal settlement. The book is an early colonial crime pamphlet, not a later novel of the Australian bush.

Bound in pale brown cloth printed in black with a wrap-around illustration and the title. Unillustrated. No dust-jacket or slipcase. Published as an additional title, outside the general programme.