Bettany's Book
| Author | Thomas Keneally |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
Publication date | 2000 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 598 pp. |
| ISBN | 1864710004 |
| Preceded by | A River Town |
| Followed by | An Angel in Australia |
Bettany's Book is a 2000 novel by the Australian author Thomas Keneally.[1]
Synopsis
[edit]Prim and Dimp Bettany are sisters whose parents were killed in a car accident. Dimp becomes rather famous as a filmmaker while Prim escapes Australia for Sudan to work for Austfam, as an aid worker. The sisters are drawn back together when Dimp is given a copy of an ancestor's journal of 19th-century frontier Tasmania.
Critical reception
[edit]Writing in The Daily Mail (UK) reviewer Elizabeth Buchan noted: "Rich, measured and reflective, Bettany's Book requires time and concentration - but it is worth it."[2]
A critic in The Guardian commented: "The first thing to be said about Thomas Keneally's new novel, Bettany's Book - indeed, the first thing to be said about almost any Keneally novel - is that it is very long. Keneally can always be depended upon: wherever and whenever they are set, his books are reassuringly thick and dense. There is nothing dilletantish, frittering or minor about them."[3]
Publishing history
[edit]After the novel's initial publication in Australia, UK and USA by Doubleday in 2000,[1] it was reprinted as follows:
Notes
[edit]- Dedication: To Rory Coverdale, fresh to Australia and the world.
- The author was interviewed by Dina Rabinovitch of The Independent (UK) about the novel.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Bettany's Book by Thomas Keneally (Doubleday 2000)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ ""Focus on fiction"". The Daily Mail, 3 November 2000, p58. ProQuest 321190329. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ ""Review: Bettany's Book"". The Guardian, 4 November 2000, p58. ProQuest 2836434029. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Bettany's Book by Thomas Keneally". Austlit. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ "Bettany's Book by Thomas Keneally (Doubleday 2002)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ ""The Books Interview: Thomas Keneally"". The Independent, 4 November 2000, p9. ProQuest 311750142. Retrieved 14 October 2024.