In May 1824 twenty women under sentence of transportation languished in the gaol at Lancaster Castle. Some had been there for years and amongst them was a 76 year old. One woman called Mary Partridge was described as being a fit healthy woman who wished to go abroad. Who were these women? How did they come to be sentenced to transportation? Why would anyone want to 'go abroad'? This book sets out to address these questions and others and tell these women's stories, together with the stories of some of other women who were similarly sentenced in Lancashire.

Every summer for the past thirty years, the Sewanee Writers' Conference has gathered a community of writers for two weeks of workshops, readings, talks, and meetings focused on the craft and art of writing. This book is a selection of craft talks delivered during the conference over the last several years. Some essays focus on one or two authors, some focus on texts, while others cast their regard more broadly. All are written in response to questions generated by the process of writing, as masters of the craft candidly report challenges they confront and the means by which they work to resolve such issues. The eighteen essays encompass poetry, fiction, and playwriting, investigating questions of language, character, design, and meaning, with nuanced readings of particular authors and works alongside more wide-ranging reflections on craft. Designed for audiences of writers and readers across multiple levels and backgrounds, the essays collected in As We Were Saying offer original, insightful arguments about the craft of writing and the power of literature.