If Captain James Cook discovered Australia -- if John Macarthur planted the first seeds of its extraordinary prosperity-- if Ludwig Leichhardt penetrated and explored its before unknown interior-- Caroline Chisholm has done much more: she has peopled-- she alone has colonised in the true sense of the term.

Unfeigned Love: Historical Accounts of Caroline Chisholm and Her Work is a very useful collection of source materials, almost all of which have long been out of print or otherwise unavailable. It includes Caroline Chisholm's most interesting book, Female Immigration Considered, which deals with the stated topic and the operation of the female immigrants' home in Sydney in 1841-42; correspondence showing the initial misgivings of colonial clergy to the home's establishment; the Rev. John Dunmore Lang's sectarian attack on Caroline Chisholm in 1846 and her superb response; the main memoirs from the early 1850s, relating her life and work to that time, interlaced with many anecdotes about bush life and colonial personalities; and articles published between 1909 and 1916 that cover similar ground and promote her saintly (that is, challenging, worthy and spiritual) qualities. To assist today's readers, the book also has sub-headings and an index for Female Immigration Considered, in addition to informative introductory chapters and notes specially written for the various historical accounts.

Radio adaptation.

Female Immigration Considered, published in 1842, recounts Caroline Chisholm's first years of activity in the Female Immigrants Home. The aim of her work was to draw public attention towards and effect change in what Chisholm saw as the 'evils' of an immigration system that abandoned its subjects.