True History of the Kelly Gang
True Crime Literary Fiction Australian Historical Fiction Post-Colonial Fiction Young Adult Historical Fiction Biographical Fiction Outlaw Western Neo-Victorian Novel
Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang (2000 University of Queensland Press Celebratory hardcover with dust jacket) is the Booker-Prize-winning “non-fiction novel” that lets Australia’s most famous outlaw, Ned Kelly, speak for himself. Written as a series of rough-hewn, spell-binding journals discovered after Kelly’s death, the story begins in the 1860s Victorian bush and races through bank robberies, police man-hunts, and the birth of the Kelly armour, all told in Carey’s dazzling vernacular that crackles with humour, rage and raw tenderness. The result is not just a biography; it is a living voice that drags colonial Australia into the present and makes the country’s complicated history of land, class and rebellion feel immediate, urgent and deeply human.
Collectors prize this limited Celebratory Edition because it was the first cloth-bound release from UQP, printed on heavy archival stock and wrapped in the dramatic gilt-stamped jacket that has become iconic in Australian publishing. The 2000 hardcover is already scarce in nice condition; this copy shows only minor shelf rub to the jacket and a faint mark to the top edge of the pages—common flaws that keep it affordable while still display-worthy. For readers who want the tactile pleasure of a proper antiquarian book, the sewn signatures and high-page bulk give it the heft and durability modern paperbacks simply can’t match.
Beyond its physical appeal, the novel’s crossover power—shelved simultaneously under Young Adult, True Crime and Literary Fiction—makes it the perfect gift for history buffs, students of post-colonial studies, or anyone hunting a ripping yarn that happens to be true. Carey’s meticulous research (he walked every Kelly site and mined 10 000 pages of historical documents) delivers the factual backbone teachers love, while the breathless outlaw energy hooks even reluctant readers. Whether you’re building an Australiana collection, filling a gap on the historical-crime shelf, or searching for that elusive “great read that also looks great on the bookcase,” this edition of True History of the Kelly Gang is a high-spot you can still snap up before prices climb.
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