For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke is a powerful historical novel about crime, punishment, injustice, and survival in the harsh penal colonies of nineteenth-century Australia. The story follows Rufus Dawes, a man wrongfully convicted and transported as a prisoner, whose life becomes a relentless struggle against brutality, corruption, and despair. Through prison camps, forced labor, attempted escapes, and personal sacrifice, Clarke exposes the cruelty of the convict system and the suffering it created. Dramatic, tragic, and socially critical, the novel remains one of the most important works of Australian colonial literature.