True History of the Kelly Gang

Most of the events of the 1800s involving Ned Kelly & his gang described are true, but the author says he tried to add the texture, the possible why’s for what Ned Kelly did. It’s a tremendous success. The Irish were treated so poorly by the English in Australia, with no legal rights & often abused by the wealthy elite, continuing to punish this convict class—descendants of those delivered here for their punishment—for the sins of their ancestors. The author portrays Kelly as a Robin Hood, beloved and protected by the abused masses against an intolerable ruling class. Told from Kelly’s “diaries” written to his unknown daughter, Kelly uses the word “adjectival” for the f-word, and I’ll probably think of that word show more often in the narrator’s Australian accent for a long time. I can see why it won the Booker. An excellent book. show less

This is a really excellent historical novel: Carey imagines how Ned Kelly might have told his own story, justifying himself and showing how the social conditions of 19th century Australia pushed him into a direction where his only realistic choice was to resist the forces of law and order that had already written him off because of the (Irish, emancipee) family he came from. The world took it for granted that he had to be a criminal, so he became one.

Obviously we are meant to read this more broadly than the specific period it is set in - Carey is showing us what life might look like if you are struggling to survive at the very bottom of society and everyone seems to be against you. But it also works extremely well as an historical show more novel - Kelly's semi-literate narrative voice is very convincing and consistent, and he gives us a very clear idea of what life was like at the bottom of the heap in rural Victoria. I'm not a judge of Australian idiom, but there was nothing that struck a jarring note for me. There is a lot of violence and unpleasantness in the story, inevitably, but Carey never allows Kelly to enjoy it or take it for granted. He kills policemen because it has become the only way to prevent them from killing him, but it disgusts him to have to do it.

I don't suppose that this is in any way a neutral and objective account of Kelly's life, but it's an entertaining and thought-provoking novel, and I'm glad I got around to it at last. show less

This is a wonderfull novel that works on several levels. Its a marvellous indictement of British colonial rule, a social history, a travelog, and a rather grim adventure story. Carey displays such imagination and literary bravado. What is fact and what may be fiction hardly matters. His descriptions of an underclass battling oppression and poverty are timeless. I finished reading this novel two days ago, and Im still haunted by the images conjured by the author, and I really miss Ned Kelly's company. This is writing at its best. Thought provoking, heart wrenching, and imaginative. Superb!

'the terror of the unyielding law...the knowledge of unfairness were deep in his bones and marrow'
By sally tarbox on 8 Aug. 2012
Format: Paperback
'I do not know what childhood or youth I ever had. What remained if any were finally taken away inside that gaol boiled off me like fat and marrow is rendered within the tallow pot'.
An absorbing narrative, supposedly by Kelly himself and intended for his daughter, this brings out the brutality of late 19th century life in Australia. With power firmly in the hands of the Anglo-Australians, the poor Irish were at their mercy.
A cumulation of events, notably the imprisonment of his beloved mother, propels him to extreme action...
From beginning this book with a vague impression of Kelly as just an show more outlaw who got his comeuppance, I finished it with a lot of empathy for his hard life and was rooting for him. Sometimes it felt like it just went from one violent incident to the next; nonetheless it kept me reading and will remain with me. show less

Historical fiction about the life of notorious Australian outlaw Ned Kelly (1854-1880). When I first picked it up, I thought it was non-fiction (just reading the title); however, I quickly realized it is a fictitious memoir, with Ned Kelly writing his life story to his infant daughter. Ned Kelly was the eldest son of Ellen and John “Red” Kelly, an Irish transported convict. His father died when he was young, so he and his mother developed a close relationship. He is apprenticed to bushranger Harry Power, where he learns the trade of an “honorable thief.” The storyline follows his increasing level of crime and his motivations.

Carey gets into the head of the protagonist, imagining the majority of the content and wrapping it show more around the main factual events in Kelly’s life. Since it is written in Ned’s voice, one may expect a sympathetic portrayal. Ned Kelly’s education ended at an early age, so Carey has captured his voice in stream of consciousness with limited punctuation and questionable grammar. After reading about a third of it in hard copy, I switched to audio, which was a good move. The audio is beautifully performed by Gianfranco Negroponte. I find I prefer to listen to dialect as opposed to reading the text.

This story is filled with adventure, conflict, and violence. Ned Kelly becomes a symbol for anti-authoritarianism and the embodiment of the underdog. It examines themes such as justice, colonialism, and class. show less

I am proud of my Irish heritage and it always surprises me how reviled the Irish were not that long ago. If Ned Kelly had been English instead of Irish or maybe if he had been Protestant instead of Catholic would his story have been different? I guess we will never know but it is clear from this book that the Irish in Australia were perceived as a lower order than the English.

Ned Kelly's father was a convict who was transported from Ireland to Van Dieman's Land (now Tasmania). After he finished his sentence Red Kelly moved to the colony of Victoria where he met Ellen Quinn and married her. The Quinns were always in trouble with the police and soon Red was subject to police harassment as well. When the Quinns decided to move to land in show more the northeast of the territory, Red thought it would be just as well to stay away from them. A bad drought came and Ned caught a neighbour's calf to put food on the table. Red was accused of the theft and put into prison. Soon after he was released he died. Ellen then decided to move with all her children (eight at the time) to land near her family. Life on the frontier was hard for everyone but especially for a young widow with children. Ned, as the oldest boy, tried to make a go of the farm but his troubles with the police continued. In time he was on the run with his brother and two other friends and they were known as the Kelly Gang.

This book is written as if Ned Kelly had written it himself. It is addressed to his daughter and the purpose was to give his daughter the facts of his life rather than all the lies from the police and newspapers. Kelly had considerable support amongst the poor of the district due to his 'Robin Hood' endeavours of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. He and his gang even helped farmers bring in their harvests. Although he had not had much education he could read and write and he was very smart. In other circumstances he could have gone on to be a successful businessman or farmer or perhaps even a politician.

Highly recommended. show less

There's a rumour in my family, well at least it was the story that my grandfather always told, that some of our family helped out the Kelly Gang. And whether or not it's true, they were certainly the right demographic - Irish Catholic ex-convicts who lived in poverty in country Victoria.

Due in large part to relating to the people and the land in the story so strongly, this was a fantastic read for me. Carey fictionalised the story of Ned Kelly's life, and I enjoyed the way he captured Ned Kelly's voice, based on actual writings he left behind. Before he was hanged. (Point of note, I grew up on a farm near Jerilderie, of the famous Jerilderie Letter)