Thomas Keneally

Thomas Keneally

Thomas Michael Keneally (born October 7, 1935) also Tom Keneally, is an Australian novelist. He was known as "Mick" until 1964 but began using the name Thomas when he started publishing, in the hope that family would be less able to identify him as the author. [1] He is perhaps most famous for his Schindler's Ark (1982), which won the Booker Prize and is the basis of the film Schindler's List. Many of his novels are reworkings of historical material, although modern in their psychology and style.

He was born in Homebush, New South Wales and educated at St Patrick's College, Strathfield, where writing prize was named after him. He entered the seminary to train as a Catholic priest, but left before his ordination. He then worked as a schoolteacher in Sydney, before his success as a novelist, and was a lecturer at the University of New England (1968 - 70). He has also written screenplays, memoirs, and non-fiction books.

Keneally has also acted in a handful of movies. He had a small role in The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith (which he wrote) and played Father Marshall in the Fred Schepisi movie, The Devil's Playground (1976) (not to be confused with a documentary by Lucy Walker about the Amish rite of passage called rumspringa and having the same title).

He is a strong advocate of the Australian republic, meaning the severing of all ties with the British monarchy, and published a book on the subject Our Republic in 1993. Several of his republican essays appear on the web site of the Australian Republican Movement.

Keneally is a keen supporter of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league team in the NRL.

Novels

* The Place at Whitton (1964)
* The Fear (1965), rewritten in (1989) as By the Line.
* Bring Larks and Heroes (1967), set in an unidentified British penal colony.
* Three Cheers for the Paraclete (1968), comic novel of a doubting priest.
* The Survivor (1969), a survivor looks back on a disastrous Arctic expedition.
* A Dutiful Daughter (1971), Keneally's personal favorite.
* The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1972), also filmed. Written through the eyes of an exploited Aborigine who explodes in rage. Based on an actual incident. Keneally has said he would not now presume to write in the voice of an Aborigine, but would have written the story as seen by a white character.
* Blood Red, Sister Rose (1974), a novel based loosely on the life of Joan of Arc.
* Gossip from the Forest (1975), tells of the negotiation of the armistice that ended World War I.
* Season in Purgatory (1976), love among Tito's partisans in World War II.
* Ned Kelly and the City of the Bees (1978), a book for children.
* A Victim of the Aurora (1978), a detective story set on an Antarctic expedition.
* Passenger (1979)
* Confederates (1979), with Stonewall Jackson's army.
* The Cut-Rate Kingdom (1980), Australia at war in 1942.
* Schindler's Ark (1982), winner of the Booker Prize, later retitled Schindler's List.
* A Family Madness (1985)
* The Playmaker (1987), prisoners perform a play in Australia 200 years ago.
* By the Line (1989), working-class families face World War II in Sydney.
* Towards Asmara (1989), the conflict in Eritrea.
* Flying Hero Class (1991), Palestinians hijack an airplane carrying an Aboriginal folk dance troupe.
* Woman of the Inner Sea (1993), Keneally retells a story once told him by a young woman that haunted his imagination.
* Jacko (1993), madness and television.
* A River Town (1995)
* Bettany's Book (2000)
* The Tyrant's Novel (2003)
* A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia (2005)

External links

* Life and Works of Thomas Keneally
* Australian Republican Movement web site. Search for "Keneally".
* Wonders of the Ross Sea Thomas Keneally recalls his voyages to Antarctica
* Australian Biography site including video interviews (and transcripts).