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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Fourteen-year-old convict Tom Clay lives in a shepherd’s hut in the bush, protecting his master’s sheep from wild dogs. When a vicious fellow shepherd returns to ensure there are no witnesses to his crimes, the bush-crafty Tom and his hapless mate Rowdy face a life-and-death battle to survive.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
A Sense of Belonging
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 414 2019; (p. 40)
— Review of Shepherd 2019 single work novel'One of the few advantages a contemporary writer of historical fiction has derives from working in a context with laxer censorship laws. Representations of sexuality and violence once proscribed can be incorporated to better approach the social conditions of the period. With regard to narratives about Australia’s convict history, Marcus Clarke’s For the Term of His Natural Life was written after transportation had ceased to the eastern Australian colonies, while farther west Fenian convict John Boyle O’Reilly’s Moondyne was published after he had escaped from Western Australia and found sanctuary in the United States.' (Introduction)
-
A Sense of Belonging
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 414 2019; (p. 40)
— Review of Shepherd 2019 single work novel'One of the few advantages a contemporary writer of historical fiction has derives from working in a context with laxer censorship laws. Representations of sexuality and violence once proscribed can be incorporated to better approach the social conditions of the period. With regard to narratives about Australia’s convict history, Marcus Clarke’s For the Term of His Natural Life was written after transportation had ceased to the eastern Australian colonies, while farther west Fenian convict John Boyle O’Reilly’s Moondyne was published after he had escaped from Western Australia and found sanctuary in the United States.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2020 shortlisted HNSA Historical Novel Prize
- 2020 shortlisted Colin Roderick Award
- 2020 longlisted Davitt Award — Best Adult Crime Novel
- 2020 longlisted APA Book Design Awards — Best Designed Commercial Fiction Cover Cover designed by Jessica Horrocks
- 2019 winner Australian Shadows Award — Novel