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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'As we follow Jamie through the joys and pains of growing up, a magic quality in the writing unlocks our own memories of childhood and adolescence so that we share with him again the delights of Christmas in the country, the sounds of the circus, the scent of horses, the tender fumblings of first love, the shock of sudden death. This magical tour takes us through the town from Comino's Café to the Royal hotel, from the great mango tree of the title to the quiet river with its island of petrified gum-trees. We meet Grandmother in her grey dress, stern but kindly; the Professor, a remittance man who drinks to escape a nameless past but who still has his moments of glory; poor, fated Maudie, the 'town bike', and her demonic guardian, Preacher Jones, ranting hell-fire and damnation to a terrible end; these and many more. A nostalgic book full of laughter and tears, to be swallowed at a sitting, or savoured slowly with delight. A tender, lyrical book.' (Publication summary)
Adaptations
-
form
y
The Mango Tree
( dir. Kevin James Dobson
)
1977
Melbourne
:
Pisces Productions
,
1977
Z1121391
1977
single work
film/TV
Set in a small sugar-cane town in post-World War II Queensland, the story follows a young boy's experiences of becoming a man.
Notes
-
Dedication: For Anne.
-
An account of the author's boyhood in Bundaberg, Queensland.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Braille.
- Sound recording.
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
Late Retrospectives on Twentieth-Century Catastrophes–the Novels of Ronald McKie
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 5 2014;'This essay examines the representation of early twentieth-century Australia in three novels, The Mango Tree, The Crushing, and Bitter Bread, which were published in the1970s by the well-known journalist Ronald McKie. The novels make the catastrophes of World War I and the Great Depression, and the frenzies of the intervening Jazz Age palatable and engaging for a later, comparatively comfortable Australian readership. They seek further to reconcile readers with the pain of living by promoting ethics of courage, kindness and decency. The novels assume and defend a central Anglo-Celtic identity for Australians. While they reject English cultural and political control, they value the input of Continental European and Asian immigrants. Living Aboriginal people are a notable absence from all three novels, but The Mango Tree seeks to appropriate Aboriginal feeling for country for the native-born descendants of settlers. Through comic-satiric depictions of life in rural Queensland communities McKie’s fiction warns of the dangers of insularity for the nation as a whole.' (Publication abstract)
-
Long Bloom of a Late Flowerer
1977
single work
biography
criticism
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 30 April vol. 99 no. 5055 1977; (p. 53) -
Creative Writing : A Bleak Prospect
1976
single work
review
— Appears in: 24 Hours , February vol. 1 no. 1 1976; (p. 44-45)
— Review of The Mango Tree 1974 single work novel ; A Kindness Cup 1974 single work novel -
Fiction Novice Wins Top Award
1975
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 23 April 1975; (p. 9) -
Strong Fevers
1975
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 20 December 1975; (p. 16)
— Review of The Mango Tree 1974 single work novel
-
Growing Up in Mangoland
1974
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 21 April 1974; (p. 81)
— Review of The Mango Tree 1974 single work novel -
Untitled
1974
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Telegraph , 28 April 1974; (p. 39)
— Review of The Mango Tree 1974 single work novel -
Soft Centred Chocs
1974
single work
review
— Appears in: Nation Review , 24-30 May 1974; (p. 1048)
— Review of The Mango Tree 1974 single work novel -
Adolescence Savored
1974
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 1 June 1974; (p. 6)
— Review of The Mango Tree 1974 single work novel -
A Man's Love For the Wild Country
1974
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 1 June 1974; (p. 15)
— Review of The Mango Tree 1974 single work novel -
Fiction Novice Wins Top Award
1975
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 23 April 1975; (p. 9) -
1974 Miles Franklin Award
1975
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Author , July vol. 7 no. 3 1975; (p. 31) -
Long Bloom of a Late Flowerer
1977
single work
biography
criticism
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 30 April vol. 99 no. 5055 1977; (p. 53) -
Late Retrospectives on Twentieth-Century Catastrophes–the Novels of Ronald McKie
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 5 2014;'This essay examines the representation of early twentieth-century Australia in three novels, The Mango Tree, The Crushing, and Bitter Bread, which were published in the1970s by the well-known journalist Ronald McKie. The novels make the catastrophes of World War I and the Great Depression, and the frenzies of the intervening Jazz Age palatable and engaging for a later, comparatively comfortable Australian readership. They seek further to reconcile readers with the pain of living by promoting ethics of courage, kindness and decency. The novels assume and defend a central Anglo-Celtic identity for Australians. While they reject English cultural and political control, they value the input of Continental European and Asian immigrants. Living Aboriginal people are a notable absence from all three novels, but The Mango Tree seeks to appropriate Aboriginal feeling for country for the native-born descendants of settlers. Through comic-satiric depictions of life in rural Queensland communities McKie’s fiction warns of the dangers of insularity for the nation as a whole.' (Publication abstract)
Awards
- Queensland,