With the authority of a brilliant historian and the narrative grace of a great novelist, Thomas Keneally recounts the founding of the first penal colony in Australia in 1788. Drawing on historical documents and journals, he weaves the stories of a diverse, colorful cast of characters into a dramatic saga of the birth of a vibrant society in an unfamiliar land.

At the center of THE COMMONWEALTH OF THIEVES is Arthur Phillips, an ambitious captain in the Royal Navy assigned the formidable task of organizing the expedition to Australia and establishing a colony comprised mainly of unskilled and malcontent criminals and petty thieves. Using Phillips's personal journals, along with other historical documents, Keneally re-creates the grueling overseas voyage, a hellish journey that claimed the lives of many convicts. As governor of the colony, Phillips took on the challenges of dealing with unruly convicts, disgruntled officers, a bewildered, sometimes hostile native population, as well as such serious matters as food shortages and disease. In the end Phillips emerges as a governor driven by a yearning for recognition and advancement, yet possessed of a social conscience rare for his time. Keneally's captivating portraits of Aborigines who both aided and opposed Phillips, and of various settlers—including convicts determined to overcome their pasts and begin anew—add depth and color to his incisive, engaging narrative on a watershed period in history.