 First UK edition | |
| Author | Randolph Stow |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Macdonald & Co. (UK) [1] Penguin Books (Australia) [2] |
Publication date | 1958 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback, Paperback, Audio-book) |
| Followed by | Tourmaline |
To the Islands is a 1958 novel by Australian author Randolph Stow. It won the Miles Franklin Award for 1958 and the ALS Gold Medal [3] in 1959.
The novel is set in a remote Anglican mission in the Kimberley in the far north of Western Australia.
The protagonist is Heriot - based partially on the figure of Ernest Gribble - the principal chaplain of the mission, who commits an act of violence against an Aboriginal man, and who subsequently disappears into the wilderness.
Originally published in England in 1958, and the USA in 1959, the novel was the first novel published by Penguin Australia in 1962. A revised edition appeared in 1981 published by Angus and Robertson. [4] Audio book editions appeared in the 2000s. [5] Text Publishing, in its republishing Australian novels, produced their edition in 2015. [6]
On the novel's re-issue in 2014, Suzie Gibson in The Conversation stated that "Although Stow’s novel presents us with challenging social, political and historical issues, it was never denied literary merit. Indeed the power of Stow’s prose is the equal of anyone’s from Patrick White to Christina Stead; it is exquisite in its sparseness, precision and surprising beauty. The frankness and difficulty of the subject matter is counter-balanced by the splendour of Stow’s memorable turns of phrase." [7]
Julian Randolph Stow was an Australian-born writer, novelist and poet.
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Frank Thomas Moorhouse was an Australian writer. He won major Australian national prizes for the short story, the novel, the essay, and for script writing. His work has been published in the United Kingdom, France, and the United States and also translated into German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Serbian, and Swedish.
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Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature. This well known Australian brand currently exists as an online shop owned by online bookseller Booktopia. The Angus & Robertson imprint is still seen in books published by HarperCollins, a News Corporation company.
The Mary Gilmore Award is currently an annual Australian literary award for poetry, awarded by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Since being established in 1956 as the ACTU Dame Mary Gilmore Award, it has been awarded in several other categories, but has been confined to poetry since 1985. It was named in honour of writer and journalist Mary Gilmore (1865–1962).
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The Grace Leven Prize for Poetry was an annual poetry award in Australia, given in the name of Grace Leven who died in 1922. It was established by William Baylebridge who "made a provision for an annual poetry prize in memory of 'my benefactress Grace Leven' and for the publication of his own work". Grace was his mother's half-sister.
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This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1957.
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1959.
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1962.
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