English Passengers

matthew kneale

In 1857 when Captain Illiam Quillian Kewley and his band of rum smugglers from the Isle of Man have most of their contraband confiscated by British Customs, they are forced to put their ship up for charter. The only takers are two eccentric Englishmen who want to embark for the other side of the globe. The Reverend Geoffrey Wilson believes the Garden of Eden was on the island of Tasmania. His traveling partner, Dr. Thomas Potter, unbeknownst to Wilson, is developing a sinister thesis about the races of men.

Meanwhile, an aboriginal in Tasmania named Peevay recounts his people’s struggles against the invading British, a story that begins in 1824, moves into the present with approach of the English passengers in 1857, and extends into the future in 1870. These characters and many others come together in a storm of voices that vividly bring a past age to life.

Genres historical fictionfictionaustraliahistoricaltraveladventurebook clubtasmanialiterary fictionliterature

446 pages, Paperback

First published March 14,2000

Literary awards

booker prize, whitbread award, miles franklin literary award, prix relay du roman devasion,

This edition

Format: 446 pages, Paperback
Published: January 16, 2001 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
ISBN: 9780385497442
ASIN: 038549744X
Language: English

About the author

matthew kneale

Matthew Kneale was born in London in 1960, read Modern History at Oxford University and on graduating in 1982, spent a year teaching English in Japan, where he began writing short stories.

Kneale is the son of writers Nigel Kneale and Judith Kerr, and the grandson of essayist and theatre critic Alfred Kerr.