 | |
| Author | Tom Keneally |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Vintage, Australia |
Publication date | 2012 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 592 |
| ISBN | 9781864712254 |
| Preceded by | The People's Train |
| Followed by | Shame and the Captives |
The Daughters of Mars is a 2012 novel by Australian novelist Tom Keneally. [1]
Sally and Naomi Durance are two nurses from country New South Wales who are shipped to Egypt during World War I end up on the Red Cross hospital ship Archimedes, stationed in the Dardanelles. The novel follows the sisters through that campaign and on to northern Europe.
To the two nurses,
Judith and Jane
In The Guardian Jay Parini notes that "Keneally revisits the first world war from the perspective of two sisters, nurses who see the blood and guts of this conflict from the periphery, on hospital ships and operating theatres...Of course there are love stories, rather inevitable and not especially interesting or memorable. And not quite knowing how to conclude the novel, Keneally offers a peculiar, bifurcated ending that doesn't work. But in truth this doesn't matter. This is a novel on an epic scale: its plenitude and anguish are life-enhancing, and the huge talents of Thomas Keneally are everywhere on display." [2]
Alan Riding in The New York Times found that "The Daughters of Mars is a long book, with ample room for multiple characters and numerous subplots, not a few involving love affairs between our circle of nurses and assorted doctors, orderlies and soldiers. But by the spring of 1916 it’s the carnage on the Western Front that consumes everyone’s attention." But concludes that Keneally "has rescued forgotten heroines from obscurity and briefly placed them center stage." [3]
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–1954), who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career (1901). She bequeathed her estate to fund this award. As of 2016, the award is valued at A$60,000.
Timothy John Winton is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles Franklin Award four times.
Alexander McPhee Miller is an Australian novelist. Miller is twice winner of the Miles Franklin Award, in 1993 for The Ancestor Game and in 2003 for Journey to the Stone Country. He won the overall award for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for The Ancestor Game in 1993. He is twice winner of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Christina Stead Prize for Conditions of Faith in 2001 and for Lovesong in 2011. In recognition of his impressive body of work and in particular for his novel Autumn Laing he was awarded the Melbourne Prize for Literature in 2012.
The Secret River is a 2005 historical novel by Kate Grenville about an early 19th-century Englishman transported to Australia for theft. The story explores what might have happened when Europeans colonised land already inhabited by Aboriginal people. The book has been compared to Thomas Keneally's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and to Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang for its style and historical theme.
Tom Flood is an Australian novelist, editor, manuscript assessor, songwriter and musician. Tom Flood was born in Sydney in New South Wales, and grew up in Western Australia. He is the son of Dorothy Hewett and Les Flood. He is the brother of Joe Flood, Michael Flood, Kate Lilley and Rozanna Lilley.
Gail Jones is an Australian novelist and academic.
Garry Disher is an Australian author of crime fiction and children's literature.
Deborah Robertson (1959) is an Australian writer. She was born in Bridgetown, Western Australia, and lives in Melbourne.
Sorry is a 2007 novel by Australian author Gail Jones.
Careless is a 2006 novel by Australian author Deborah Robertson.
The Broken Shore (2005) is a Duncan Lawrie Dagger award-winning novel by Australian author Peter Temple.
An Angel in Australia is a 2002 novel by Thomas Keneally.
The Widow and Her Hero is a novel by the Australian author Thomas Keneally set in Australia during World War II.
The Colin Roderick Award is presented annually by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies at Queensland's James Cook University for "the best book published in Australia which deals with any aspect of Australian life". It was first presented in 1967 and has a prize of A$20,000. Starting in 1980, the H. T. Priestley Memorial Medal has also been bestowed upon the award winner.
Three Dog Night is a 2003 novel by Australian author Peter Goldsworthy.
Lovesong is a 2009 novel by the Australian author Alex Miller.
Foal's Bread is a 2011 novel by Australian author Gillian Mears. It was the winner of the 2012 ALS Gold Medal, the Age Book of the Year for Fiction, the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction, and the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Fiction. It was also shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award and the Barbara Jefferis Award.
Emily Bitto is an Australian writer. Her debut novel The Strays won the 2015 Stella Prize for Australian women's writing.
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1982.
Elizabeth Tan is an Australian novelist and short story writer whose short story collection Smart Ovens for Lonely People, published in 2020, was longlisted for the 2021 Stella Prize. Her style is characterised by elements of postmodernism and magic realism, blending experimental structure and voice with fantastical elements. Her narratives critically engage with contemporary societal issues such as feminism and consumerism while incorporating frequent references to Australian popular culture.