1. Anxiety
2. Art motifs
3. Convicts
4. Crime
5. Design
6. Figurative language
7. Historical fiction
8. History
9. Resilience
10. Social justice
11. Survival

Claire Saxby’s use of a first person narrator quickly engages readers in this historical fiction picture book. The year is 1841 and the setting is the Rajah, a convict ship transporting women convicted of crimes and now bound for Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania).

The story’s focus is on Lizzie Flynn who has received a seven years’ sentence for stealing a shawl. She reveals her challenge: ‘All I own in this world is my name: Lizzie Flynn’. Big Martha is a contrasting character, also being transported. She is bitter and angry at their women’s treatment and limited prospects in a new country.

Illustrations, created with acrylic paint, provide an insight into the times. The story’s opening scene on board the Rajah captures the dismal mood with its drab colours of grey, wine and tan. Clothes worn by the women are patched and threadbare. Scenes below the ship’s deck reveal crowded and miserable conditions where sea sickness is rife and the air is stifling. Saxby’s language offers strong visual images of these conditions, describing the women’s sea voyage as ‘a groaning mass of writhing bodies, souped in a mix of vomit and filth.’ The figurative language used throughout reveals the tense atmosphere where the women are ‘squabbling like seagulls’. Perhaps the final illustrations offer a small ray of hope for some of these women as the colours brighten, revealing the greens of the countryside and blue skies with houses comfortably nestled beneath.

One activity brings the women together and helps them to momentarily forget the challenges they face. Each woman, on boarding the Rajah, is given a bag with numerous objects including needles, cotton, scissors, comb, bible and bits of different coloured cloth. With these, the women work together to create a quilt. This completed ‘Rajah Quilt’ survives as a remarkable historical achievement with its 2,715 pieces stitched by 20 women on board the Rajah. Such quilts gave the transported women opportunities to form friendships, waylay boredom and achieve an object of satisfying beauty.

The completed Rajah Quilt and its history is revealed at the back of the book. Its intricate patterns and subtle colours of purples, wines, black and cream colours are beautiful. The quilt is now housed in the National Gallery in Canberra.

1. Kids’ Book Review, 18 June 2015, Guest Post: ‘The Writing of My Name is Lizzie Flynn by Claire Saxby’ http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2015/06/guest-post-writing-of-my-name-is-lizzie.html
2. Black Dog Books Classroom Ideas ‘My Name is Lizzie Flynn : A Story of the Rajah Quilt’ https://classroom.walkerbooks.com.au/home/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/My-Name-is-Lizzie-Flynn-Classroom-Ideas.pdf
3. Aussie Reviews 8 Aug 2015 review by Sally Murphy of ‘My Name is Lizzie Flynn : A Story of the Rajah Quilt’ http://aussiereviews.com/2015/08/my-name-is-lizzie-flynn-by-claire-saxby-lizzy-newcomb/
4. Reading Time 23 Jul 2015 review by Sue Clancy of ‘My Name is Lizzie Flynn : A Story of the Rajah Quilt’ http://readingtime.com.au/my-name-is-lizzie-flynn-a-story-of-the-rajah-quilt/
5. Books+Publishing 2 Apr 2015 review by Margaret Hamilton of ‘My Name is Lizzie Flynn’ https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2015/04/02/32735/my-name-is-lizzie-flynn-claire-saxby-illus-by-lizzy-newcomb-black-dog-books/
6. National Gallery of Australia, ‘Conservation: The Rajah Quilt – 1841’ https://nga.gov.au/stories-ideas/the-rajah-quilt-1841/