Présentation de l'éditeur
Prim, an aid-worker in the Sudan, is contacted by her sister Dimp, who is back in Australia. She has come into possession of revealing documents concerning their ancestors: transported from Manchester, their great-grandfather was the son of a convict, while their great grandmother was not only a convict too, but Jewish. As the story unfolds, through letters and a journal, of how John Bettany made his fortune, and of Sarah's time in the notorious Female Factory, the sisters gain new perspectives on their roots. And as Prim's travels progress, she realises that her life is paralleling the perilous paths taken by her great-grandmother, and her enthusiasms and loves as well. A compelling portrait of the white origins of Australia, and of two adventurous, spirited young women, one hundred and fifty years apart.
Revue de presse
A riveting and compendious account . . . It is a tremendous work, full of scholarship, adventure, drama and compassion (
Rachel Cusk, Daily Telegraph)
'A riveting and compendious account of the settlement of Australia by white convicts. It is a tremendous work, full of scholarship, adventure, drama and compassion.' Rachel Cusk, Daily Telegraph
'Magnificent...A literary tour de force' Independent on Sunday
Magnificent . . . A literary tour de force (
Independent on Sunday)
'A work of towering authority: large in scope; rich in detail; overflowing with ripe humanity...more than an engrossing novel: it is a stirring one' David Robson, Sunday Telegraph
Should be read for decades to come (
The Times)
An ambitious and epic work (
Express)
'This is a difficult, sprawling, brave and ultimately rewarding novel' Edward Carey, Observer
'A thumping big book, teeming with energy. Not only is Keneally still a supreme storyteller, but his range seems to be expanding rather than contracting ...In a cast of vibrant protagonists, Prim is an exceptional heroine by any literary standards - the beating, human heart of a novel enriched by Keneally's characteristic, fiercely intelligent engagement with serious issues... Here is an author who has plenty to say, and who continues to say it with great skill and potency' Martyn Bedford, Literary Review
'Prim and Dimp, the novel's heroines, ring true as two outspoken Sydney sisters from an upper-middle-class, Anglo-Celtic family... The contents of Bettany's book initially make for a fascinating tale of white Australian origins, in which the often tragic relationships between Aboriginal communities and British settlers are deftly sketched.' New Statesman
'An ambitious and epic work' The Express
'A marvellously readable and powerfully moving skein of stories' TLS
'Hugely compelling... Vivid, immediate, heartfelt.' Scotland on Sunday
'Bettany's Book is a rich feast served up with great skill and passion by a master storyteller' Irish Times
'One can only marvel at the massive amounts of research Keneally invests in his novels. Tracing the history of a family through generations, Keneally provides impressive historical detail that adds greatly to his characters. Two sisters discover the memories of an ancestor. The trials he faced a century before reflect their current personal crises.' SX, London
'Thomas Keneally confronts the vast economic, cultural and historical distances between Australia and Africa, with a story that bridges them together convincingly. His rare ability to project engrossing human drama on to the most daunting of world events won him international fame after the publication of Schindler's Ark in 1982. His new novel brings the same humanity and intelligence to bear on aspects of the 20th century that are temporally and spatially more diffuse than the holocaust, but every bit as distressing... Keneally has been described as 'the best Australian writer alive'. His complex new novel about what it means to be Australian should be read for decades to come.' Ruth Scurr, The Times
Biographie de l'auteur
Thomas Keneally began hi
