Proteus (West novel)

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Proteus
Author Morris West
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
Publisher Collins
Publication date
1979
Media typePrint
Pages273 pp.
ISBN 0002216744
Preceded by The Navigator  
Followed by The Clowns of God  

Proteus (1979) is a novel by Australian writer Morris West. It was originally published by Collins in England in 1979. [1]

Contents

Synopsis

The novel's protagonist is John Spada, an Italian-American who leads a multinational corporation. He also secretly heads a covert organisation called Proteus, aiming to free prisoners of conscience around the world. To achieve this, Proteus threatens to release a deadly botulism culture into selected cities' water supply.

Critical reception

John Philip in The Canberra Times thought that the "essence of a gripping yarn is there; but the story, as it unfolds, falters and finally fails." He concluded: "All in all, a disappointing novel. A great deal of action is developed around a topical theme; but finally Morris West loses touch with reality." [2]

In her literary study of West and his work, Maryanne Confoy noted: "In Proteus West was trying to discover whether the goodness of one human being could triumph over the evil of another. If the thoroughly evil person violated a thoroughly good person, could such a violation be overcome by goodness alone? Would the good person have to resort to evil in the effort to sustain live." [3]

Publication history

After its original publication in 1979 in England by publishers Collins [4] the novel was later published as follows:

and many other paperback editions. [1]

The novel was translated into: Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Brazilian, Danish, Norwegian, German, French and Spanish in 1979; Finnish, Swedish and Japanese in 1980; Hebrew in 1982; and Slovenian in 1985 . [1]

Notes

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Austlit — Proteus by Morris West (Collins) 1979". Austlit. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  2. ↑ ""Disappointing"". The Canberra Times, 19 May 1979, p12. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  3. ↑ Morris West: Literary Maverick by Maryanne Confoy, John Wiley & Sons, 2005, p159
  4. ↑ "Proteus (Collins)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "Proteus (William Morrow)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
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