Female convict Nappy King in famine Ireland and colonial Tasmania.

A monumental work, epic in scope, heartbreaking and inspiring, propelled by a passionate quest to restore a woman’s life. Nappy King has been rescued from anonymity, her life honoured, her resourcefulness in the face of injustice meticulously documented and her defiant adventurous spirit celebrated. ~ ARNOLD ZABLE Writer, novelist and human rights advocate

Nappy King was one of thousands of women transported to Van Diemen’s Land during the Irish Famine, and one of the few to bring a child with them. In From Fields of Stone, Isabel de la Rambelya weaves sensitivity and detailed research into an exploration of her great-great-grandmother’s life – from servant in Clifden Castle, Ireland, to Nappy’s years in Tasmania, as convict, settler, landowner, mother, wife and finally as a patient in the New Norfolk Insane Asylum. Isabel’s two-decade-long journey of discovery shines a light on the human costs of the Irish Famine and Tasmania’s convict past.

THE AUTHOR: Isabel de la Rambelya is the great-great granddaughter of three Van Diemen's Land convicts. Her mother, Olive Kiely (née Campbell), was born in Scottsdale Tasmania in 1914. To understand her roots, Isabel has undertaken extensive family history research in Scotland and Ireland. She is fascinated by the interplay of family stories and historical research and the contributions each can make to the recovery of ‘lost’ ancestors.