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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
It is 1857, and Reverend Geoffrey Wilson has departed England to prove the literal truth of the bible. The expedition heads towards Tasmania, where he is convinced he will find the real Garden of Eden. But the other passengers have their own agendas. As the English passengers near Peevay's land, their bizarre notions become painfully at odds with reality. (Source: Trove)
Notes
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Dedication: This book is dedicated to Victoria Egan.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
George Vandiemen : A Tasmanian Aborigine in Lancashire, England : (1822-1827)
2013
single work
biography
— Appears in: Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society , December vol. 99 no. 2 2013; (p. 153-169) -
'The Dark Races Stand Still, the Fair Progress' : Matthew Kneale’s English Passengers and the Intellectual Commodification of Colonial Encounter in Tasmania
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Commodifying (Post) Colonialism : Othering, Reification, Commodification and the New Literatures and Cultures in English 2010; (p. 63-75) -
y
The Roving Party : Extinction Discourse in the Literature of Tasmania
2009
Z1775389
2009
single work
thesis
'The nineteenth century discourse of extinction - a consensus of thought primarily based upon the assumption that 'savage' races would be displaced by the arrival of European civilisation - provided the intellectual foundation for policies which resulted in Aboriginal dispossession, internment, and death in Tasmania. For a long time, the Aboriginal Tasmanians were thought to have been annihilated. However, this claim is now understood to be fanciful. Aboriginality is no longer defined as a racial category but rather as an identity that has its basis in community. Nevertheless, extinction discourse continues to shape the features of modern literature about Tasmania.
'The first chapter of this dissertation will examine how extinction discourse was imagined in the nineteenth century and will trace the parallels that contemporary fiction about contact history shares with it. The novels examined include Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World by Mudrooroo, The Savage Crows by Robert Drewe, Manganinnie by Beth Roberts, and Wanting by Richard Flanagan. The extinctionist elements in these novels include a tendency to euglogise about the 'lost race' and a reliance on the trope of the last man or woman.
'The second chapter of the dissertation will examine novels that attempt to construct a representation of Aboriginality without reference to extinction. These texts subvert and ironise extinction discourse as a way of breaking the discursive continuities with colonialism and establishing a more nuanced view of Aboriginal identity in a post-colonial context. Novels analysed here include Drift by Brian Castro, Elysium by Robert Edric, and English Passengers by Matthew Kneale. However, in attempting to arrive at new understandings about Aboriginality, non-Aboriginal authors are hindered by the epistemological difficulties of knowing and representing the Other. In particular, they seem unable to extricate themselves from the binaries of colonialism.' (Trove) -
Recolonisation and Disinheritance : The Case of Tasmania
2006
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Critics and Writers Speak : Revisioning Post-Colonial Studies 2006; (p. 106-114) 'The essay discusses the appropriations of the history and landscape of Tasmania, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and particularly by outsiders to the state, whether they are European or from the Australian mainland' (106). Pierce draws on the texts cited above, and on critical responses to these texts to demonstrate the conflicted experiences of departure from Tasmania and, in some cases, an equally unsettling return. -
The Empire Looks Back: Turning Back the Gaze on the Observing Subject: A Comparative Study of Mudrooroo's Master Series and Kneale's English Passengers
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Re-Presenting Otherness : Mapping the Colonial 'Self'/ Mapping the Indigenous 'Other' in the Literatures of Australia and New Zealand. Actes de la journée d'études organisée à Paris X-Nanterre le 28 juin 2003 2005; (p. 153-169)
-
Sincerity Down Under
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 3 June 2000; (p. 8)
— Review of English Passengers 2000 single work novel -
Anchored in Veracity
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 10-11 June 2000; (p. 14)
— Review of English Passengers 2000 single work novel -
Books in Brief
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian's Review of Books , June vol. 5 no. 5 2000; (p. 23)
— Review of English Passengers 2000 single work novel -
A Problem of Native Voice
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 17 June 2000; (p. 9)
— Review of English Passengers 2000 single work novel -
Divine Bone of Contention
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10 June 2000; (p. 14)
— Review of English Passengers 2000 single work novel -
Récits d’un voyage : English Passengers de Matthew Kneale et l’art de l’entre genres
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: E-rea : Revue d'etudes anglophones , Spring vol. 3 no. 1 2005; -
The Empire Looks Back: Turning Back the Gaze on the Observing Subject: A Comparative Study of Mudrooroo's Master Series and Kneale's English Passengers
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Re-Presenting Otherness : Mapping the Colonial 'Self'/ Mapping the Indigenous 'Other' in the Literatures of Australia and New Zealand. Actes de la journée d'études organisée à Paris X-Nanterre le 28 juin 2003 2005; (p. 153-169) -
Recolonisation and Disinheritance : The Case of Tasmania
2006
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Critics and Writers Speak : Revisioning Post-Colonial Studies 2006; (p. 106-114) 'The essay discusses the appropriations of the history and landscape of Tasmania, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and particularly by outsiders to the state, whether they are European or from the Australian mainland' (106). Pierce draws on the texts cited above, and on critical responses to these texts to demonstrate the conflicted experiences of departure from Tasmania and, in some cases, an equally unsettling return. -
The Gilded Cage: From Utopia to Monad in Australia's Island Imaginary
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Islands in History and Representation 2003; (p. 190-203) -
y
The Roving Party : Extinction Discourse in the Literature of Tasmania
2009
Z1775389
2009
single work
thesis
'The nineteenth century discourse of extinction - a consensus of thought primarily based upon the assumption that 'savage' races would be displaced by the arrival of European civilisation - provided the intellectual foundation for policies which resulted in Aboriginal dispossession, internment, and death in Tasmania. For a long time, the Aboriginal Tasmanians were thought to have been annihilated. However, this claim is now understood to be fanciful. Aboriginality is no longer defined as a racial category but rather as an identity that has its basis in community. Nevertheless, extinction discourse continues to shape the features of modern literature about Tasmania.
'The first chapter of this dissertation will examine how extinction discourse was imagined in the nineteenth century and will trace the parallels that contemporary fiction about contact history shares with it. The novels examined include Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World by Mudrooroo, The Savage Crows by Robert Drewe, Manganinnie by Beth Roberts, and Wanting by Richard Flanagan. The extinctionist elements in these novels include a tendency to euglogise about the 'lost race' and a reliance on the trope of the last man or woman.
'The second chapter of the dissertation will examine novels that attempt to construct a representation of Aboriginality without reference to extinction. These texts subvert and ironise extinction discourse as a way of breaking the discursive continuities with colonialism and establishing a more nuanced view of Aboriginal identity in a post-colonial context. Novels analysed here include Drift by Brian Castro, Elysium by Robert Edric, and English Passengers by Matthew Kneale. However, in attempting to arrive at new understandings about Aboriginality, non-Aboriginal authors are hindered by the epistemological difficulties of knowing and representing the Other. In particular, they seem unable to extricate themselves from the binaries of colonialism.' (Trove)
Awards
- 2001 shortlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 2000 winner Whitbread Book Awards — Novel
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