Cirrus@Austlit

'Evelyn Conlon's book Not the Same Sky tells the story of more than 200 Irish girls who were shipped from England to Australia during the time of the potato famine. Conlon's narrative engages delicately with the lives of several of the girls, taking the perspective of Charles Strutt, the Surgeon-superintendent responsible for their welfare during the voyage. This delicacy is essential, lest the reader be overcome by the unremitting tragedy experienced by these orphan girls. But Charles instead brings order and an uplifting spirit to their lives, and the sea voyage is negotiated with a skill that provides readers with glimpses into a world that, while it may be removed from our time by one and a half centuries, casts relevant light onto some aspects of the colony's Anglo-Celtic origins.'  (Introduction)