Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish

Historical Fiction Australian Literature Metafiction Gothic Fiction Dark Comedy Art & Artists Convict Narrative

First-edition hardcover copies of Richard Flanagan’s “Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish” (Pan Macmillan Australia, 2001) have become the prize of contemporary Australian literature collections. Bound in illustrated boards and protected by the original dust jacket, this 2001 first printing is the format collectors chase—issued only in Australia and long out of print. The book’s physical heft, deckle-edged pages, and full-colour fish plates echo the eccentric spirit of the narrative itself, making the object as desirable as the story within.

Flanagan’s Booker-shortlisted tour de force re-imagines the life of William Buelow Gould, a convict painter condemned to Sarah Island’s brutal penal colony in 1828. Each chapter is dedicated to one of Gould’s luminous fish portraits, transforming a catalogue of ornamental species into a kaleidoscopic meditation on art, cruelty, and the elastic nature of truth. The result is a genre-defying blend of historical fiction, metafiction, and Gothic dark comedy that crackles with linguistic invention and has earned sustained comparison to the works of Patrick White and Gabriel García Márquez.

Beyond its literary accolades, the novel speaks to anyone fascinated by natural-history illustration, colonial Australia, or the way art can survive oppression. Young-adult and adult readers alike relish its rich visual elements—reproductions of Gould’s original fish paintings are woven through the text—making it an ideal gift for artists, marine-life enthusiasts, and rare-book lovers. A clean, tidy interior ensures this copy is ready for immediate enjoyment or display, while the dust-jacket wear serves as gentle testimony to its journey through two decades of careful ownership.

Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.

Buy Now Questions