Kelly Country

Kelly Country
AuthorA. Bertram Chandler
LanguageEnglish
GenreAlternative history novel
PublisherPenguin
Publication date
1983
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint
Pages341 pp.
ISBN0140060049

Kelly Country is a 1983 alternative history novel by the Australian author A. Bertram Chandler.[1]

Synopsis

Australian bushranger and rebel Ned Kelly leads a successful revolution against British colonial rule. The result is that Australia becomes a world power, but the Australian Republic which Kelly founded degenerates into a hereditary dictatorship.

Critical reception

Writing in Australian Book Review critic Yvonne Rousseau concluded: "Chandler has thoroughly researched the political and military possibilities of the period; he has dealt with misgivings as to whether Kelly had the drive to establish a dynasty of Hereditary Presidents, each one respectfully spoken of as 'the Kelly'; he has provided astonishing adventures, constant shifts of scene, and a final revelation which casts an ironic light on history–which highlights an uncertainty very few men can be immune to–and which paradoxically shows the final Kelly (the one who wiped out Hanoi with nuclear weapons) to be a greater-hearted man than the reader has believed."[2]

Van Ikin, in Westerly found that "The novel cannot help but raise certain questions about Australian history and nationalism, yet these intellectual issues are not tackled with the same zest and imagination that the author applies to scenes of battIe or reconstructions of historical spectacle. This imbalance, however, is quite deliberate: it is clear that Chandler has set out to write a rollickingly readable yarn, peppered with suspense, excitement, and enthusiastic humour. Moreover it is to his credit that he ensures that certain key questions are at least asked (if not answered)."[3]

Publishing history

After the novel's initial publication in Australia by Penguin in 1983,[1] it was reprinted as follows:

  • DAW, USA, 1985[4]
  • Orion, UK, 2016[5]

The novel was also translated into German in 1986, with the alternate title Die Australische Revolution.[6]

Awards

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Kelly Country by A. Bertram Chandler (Penguin 1983)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  2. ^ ""Yvonne Rousseau reviews 'Thor's Hammer' by Wynne Whiteford, 'The Tempting of the Witch King' by Russell Blackford, and 'Kelly Country' by A. Bertram Chandler"". Australian Book Review, May 1984. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  3. ^ ""Kelly Country, by A. Bertram Chandler, Penguin Books, Ringwood, Victoria, 1983. 341 pp. $5.95."" (PDF). Westerly, March 1985. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Kelly Country by A. Bertram Chandler (DAW)". ISFDB. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Kelly Country by A. Bertram Chandler (Orion)". ISFDB. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Kelly Country by A. Bertram Chandler (Goldmann)". ISFDB. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  7. ^ Weddall, Roger (ed.). "The 1984 Australian Science Fiction Achievement Awards - The DITMARS". Thyme. No. 32. p. 7.

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