NEW!​
'With meticulous research and engaging writing, Jane Smith not only creates a fascinating portrait of the extraordinary life of the truly unstoppable Hannah Rigby, but also deftly situates it within a richly-textured tapestry of early colonial life in Australia, in all its cruelties, characters, and complexities.' 
​Sophie Masson AM, award-winning author.
One Free Woman tells the compelling true story of the only female convict to stay in Moreton Bay when the penal settlement closed – a woman who notoriously served three separate sentences of transportation, including two at one of the harshest establishments in the country.
In Scotland, 1826, Meggy McKessar comes to live and work at John Lovie’s Aberdeenshire farm. John’s widowed mother is warned Meggy will bring trouble, but she refuses to listen; all she wants is to for the rumours about John’s sordid past to be forgotten forever. But when a sudden death casts suspicion on the widow’s favourite son, the life she has so desperately tried to preserve threatens to fall apart.​
Based on a sensational true crime, Three Times Buried is a sinister tale of torn loyalties, secrets, superstition and murder.
'I loved this book, I couldn’t put it down. It gripped me from the first page till the last. A must read.'
​-Kirsty Mckay, Amazon.co.uk

'This book literally kept me up late turning pages. A great tale, sensitively told, with details woven in about hardscrabble daily life in Scotland and the folk-beliefs of the time, too. Utterly charming, compelling, and sad, all at the same time, but satisfying, too.'
​-Calif writer, Amazon.com

​SHORTLISTED FOR THE FRANK BROEZE MEMORIAL MARITIME HISTORY BOOK PRIZE 2021.

​Ship of Death: the tragedy of the Emigrant is now available! See BOOKS for more info, or visit my site devoted to the tragic story for facts, pictures and never-before seen details about the drama.
Short story 
Cascade

My short story Cascade won second prize in the 2022 Ethel Webb Bundell Literary Awards, awarded by the Society for Women Writers WA.

Here's the judge's report. 
​
Read the story here.
Articles 
'Hannah Rigby's Boys: A Lucky Break' - guest post on SLQ blog.
'Building runways': an article celebrating International Women's Day
'Knitting is not enough': the Carly Mills series celebrates the achievements of women through history
'The nurse ahead of her time': the amazing Florence Nightingale
All books



​This site was published 9 July 2014. Last updated February 2025.