This fascinating account of early Australia focuses on Governor William Bligh (famous as the captain of "Mutiny On the Bounty" fame). The Rum Rebellion has, for generations, been told to school children as one of the better stories of Australian history - how Bligh was a tyrant deposed by the New South Wales Corps and dragged out from his hiding place under a bed. It has even been said - and this is just as far from the truth - that the overthrowing of Governor Bligh was a victory for democracy and colonial self government. This book combines the historical with the legal in a narrative which illuminates Australian history and many of its famous characters. Years of attempting to make Australian history interesting for adolescent boys, and subsequently training to be a lawyer, have prepared Russell Earls Davies for the task of writing a readable account of Bligh's time in Australia.