True History of the Kelly Gang

By: Peter Carey

Narrated by: Gianfranco Negroponte

Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 2001

Ned Kelly's name resonates in Australia the same way the name Jesse James does in America. Was he a crusading folk hero or murderous horse thief and bank robber? Who was the real Ned Kelly? As the impoverished son of an Irish convict, Kelly was cheated, lied to, and abused by the English. Committed to fighting back against oppression, Kelly and his gang of outlaws eluded police for nearly two years. Brilliantly novelized by Peter Carey, the story of the Kelly Gang unfolds from a series of 13 compassionate letters written, while on the run, by Kelly to his infant daughter. Building from this historical legend and testing our sympathies, Carey crafts a deeply humanistic piece of historical fiction, a tale of injustice and violence.

©2000 Peter Carey (P)2001 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"No reader will be left unmoved by this dramatic tale....A novel that teems with energy, suspense and the true story of a memorable protagonist." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Historical fiction doesn't get much better than this." ( School Library Journal)
"Packed with incident, alive with comedy and pathos...contains pretty much everything you could ask of a novel." ( The New York Times Book Review)

Interesting book

I knew nothing of Ned Kelly; but this book caused me to read more about Ned, and conditions in Australia for the Irish.

Historical Fiction done well!!

Fact based fiction, as the writer tells you in the interview at the end. Great story, well writen and narrated. As one who has listened to well over 300 audio books, this is in the top 40 or so. Well worth the money. Listen and Enjoy!

True History of the Kelly Gang (Unabridged)

This is an outstanding, superbly written, and consistently engrossing book.

good book

Well read, and a Very good book. But it's important to remember this is historical FICTION, not history. So some of what's in it is debatable... IF you get the audible version of the book there's an interview with author goes through bits he made up and on what he based the assumptions... but they are assumptions. The Kelly gang are major characters in the Australian zeitgeist. I was lucky enough that about 75% of the way through the book to be taken to the town where he was killed and getting to see the museums and such, set up in his memory ... and as tourist traps

Totally new to me

I "read" this for my book group--- would not have thought to read it otherwise-- and that's what good book groups are good for! This was a fascinating story, nicely rendered. I did actually read part of it, and found I was very glad for the audio version, as the story is written in the Australian dialect of its time period. Kind of hard to read, visually. But easy to hear. The characters and story are engaging... FYI, this is historical fiction. So it's based on real people and situations, and thoroughly researched, but is still fiction.

I felt like I learned a lot and enjoyed the ride.

Australia's history come to life.

I was mesmerized by this book. I found the story (which I knew virtually nothing about) to be exciting and educational. It felt much like a story out of America's old west; I found myself comparing it to Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. I listened to this one on audible, and I am very glad that I did because sometimes when I read books that are so full of slang and poor grammar I get lost in the function (disfunction) of the language instead of in the story. But when I listened to it I found myself transported to the Australian bush with Ned Kelley. I highly recommend the audio version, especially if you, like me, tend to focus on sentence structure when reading books like this one.

Superb! Maybe my favorite audiobook experience

What made the experience of listening to True History of the Kelly Gang the most enjoyable?

Language is beautiful. Story is fabulous. Perfomance by the reader is wonderful. I couldn't wait to get to my car for my daily commute to listen to this masterpiece. LOVED it. On a par with the Killer Angels as an historical novel.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ned Kelly. Principalled (for a killer) and tough. The character is beautifully written with depth and complexity. I really cared about him. One of the most memorable characters I've ever encountered in literature.

Have you listened to any of Gianfranco Negroponte’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. But he was super.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Everytime the author reminded by that Ned was speaking to his daughter as he told the story.

HORRIBLE

I demand a refund. I paid for this audio book and since dy one, I have not been able to find where I left off in the audible. NONE of your chapters match up. Its a shame you cannot complete a simple task.

why was this book so highly recommended?

unbearable, unrelenting sordid scenes--one after another--until I felt bludgeoned. Mothers sleeping with wives' boyfriends, murder, torture, dirt, squalor, flies, blood, death--it just never stopped. Someone told me that as a Dickens reader, I'd like this book and I cannot imagine anything as remote from Dickens as Peter Carey's "True History of the Kelly Gang"