Frank Coates Frank Coates i(A81544 works by)
Born: Established: Melbourne, Victoria, ;
Gender: Male
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 y separately published work icon Whisper at Dawn Frank Coates , Sydney : HarperCollins Australia , 2014 6197274 2014 single work novel

'At the dawn of the 20th century, young Dan Sullivan signs on to fight the Boers, but discovers war has horrors beyond the battle fields. In East Africa, a railway crosses a land with an unimaginable throng of wild animals. It is the golden age of the white hunter - men whose exciting lives entice rich hunters to go in search of big, dangerous game. After many failed attempts, old Bill Freeman sees his chance to make his fortune as a hunter and convinces Dan to join his fledgling safari company. Bill's young granddaughter, Liz, falls in love with Dan and with Africa - but tragedy forces her to return to Australia. Years later, as the shadow of the Great War falls across the continent, Liz returns to Africa and the man she has dreamed of since childhood. But Dan has secrets that threaten to shatter their love, and he must finally decide what courage truly means.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
1 y separately published work icon Echoes from a Distant Land Frank Coates , Sydney : HarperCollins Australia , 2012 Z1934877 2012 single work novel adventure historical fiction 'A powerful story of doomed love against the backdrop of Africa ...

Wangira is caught between the traditions of his Kikuyu tribe and the disturbing new ideas of the missionaries. When, as a young warrior, he saves the life of a wealthy American photographer, he is offered the chance of a new life far away in the white man′s world. Between the wars, Kenya is a land of boundless opportunity where the rich engage in hunting safaris, horse racing, outrageous parties and all the pleasures that money can buy. Dana Northcote is a celebrated socialite, living the high life, but when Wangira uses her husband′s farm in the Kenyan highlands to hide some contraband, she embarks on a dangerous, passionate affair.

Ultimately, she is forced to make a heart-rending decision that will tear her life apart and has consequences which will echo through the generations. Spanning the first half of the twentieth century and culminating in Kenya′s fight for independence from the British Empire, Echoes from a Distant Land is a vivid evocation of a nation in turmoil, and a story of a love that dared to cross the divide.' (Publisher's blurb)
1 1 y separately published work icon Softly Calls the Serengeti Frank Coates , Pymble : HarperCollins Australia , 2011 Z1762847 2011 single work novel adventure

'Fires light the sky over Kibera - East Africa′s largest slum. It is the prelude to the bloody violence that erupts during Kenya′s presidential elections.

'Joshua Otieng is caught between the brutal realities of life in the slum and his dream of a return to the glories of his ancestral past. Mayasa is a young woman he believes could share his dreams, but he becomes inexorably swept along in the tide of tribal conflict stirred up by the upcoming elections.

'Journalist Mark Riley travels to Kenya to find a missing orphan, and to escape the pain of his past. Two women - feisty anthropologist Charlotte Manning and beautiful, mysterious Kazlana Ramanova - rekindle his interest in the world.

'On a journey to the Serengeti, surrounded by the epic landscapes of Africa, they each discover that danger lurks everywhere and there is more to fear than just the wildlife ...

'Frank Coates′s compelling new novel is at once a thrilling adventure and a poignant exploration of grief, family and identity, all set against the upheavals of twenty-first century Kenya.' (From the publisher's website.)
1 Frank Coates : The Books That Changed Me Frank Coates , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 28 September 2008; (p. 10-11) Frank Coates nominates five books that changed him including Tim Winton's Dirt Music.
1 1 y separately published work icon The Last Maasai Warrior Frank Coates , Pymble : HarperCollins Australia , 2008 Z1522458 2008 single work novel historical fiction 'For so long as the Maasai shall exist as a people - this is the land tenure promised by the British government in their 1904 treaty with the Maasai. Seven years later the promise is broken and the leader of the Maasai warriors has just two options - to confront the whites superior power, or to bow to them and make the perilous journey to the new reserve. In the meantime he struggles to resist his forbidden desires for another man's wife. George Coll, arrives in East Africa to begin work in the new administration but finds himself in an impossible situation. Should he toe the government line and watch an innocent and previously peaceful people be unjustly thrown out of their homeland, or help them to resist? Coll also has a very personal decision to make. Hilda Wallace will share whatever life has to offer him, but can he accept knowing a ticking time bomb hangs over his head? As the Maasai gather to make their historic decision, the white settlers and government forces are determined to seize the land they need.'--Provided by publisher.
1 y separately published work icon Roar of the Lion Frank Coates , Pymble : HarperCollins Australia , 2007 Z1373659 2007 single work novel historical fiction adventure 'Love or empire; ambition or greed? What drives a man to walk from the Cape to Cairo? Ewart Grogan, known to the Africans as Bwana Simba - the man with the cold stare of the lion - is a man of unwavering self-confidence. From his early days fighting for Cecil Rhodes in the matabele wars, Grogan's passion uniquely equipped him to conquer a continent. He risked all to trek across darkest Africa for the woman he loves, and has gone on to dominate the business world of the burgeoning new colony of British East Africa. Domination has come at a price, however, and Grogan's ambition divides him from those who gave him his start - and those who love him most. Now, the great War points its bloody finger towards Africa. And Grogan faces his greatest ordeal - and his most wrenching choice...'(Back cover)
1 3 y separately published work icon In Search of Africa Frank Coates , Pymble : HarperCollins Australia , 2006 Z1265125 2006 single work novel historical fiction
1 3 y separately published work icon Beyond Mombasa Frank Coates , Pymble : HarperCollins Australia , 2005 Z1188256 2005 single work novel adventure historical fiction Based on the true story of Ronald and Florence Preston, and the challenges they encountered during the building of a railway from Mombasa to Lake Victoria.
1 On My Bedside Table : Frank Coates Frank Coates , 2004 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 26 June 2004; (p. 6)
1 1 y separately published work icon Tears of the Maasai Frank Coates , Pymble : HarperCollins Australia , 2004 Z1110964 2004 single work novel
X