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y separately published work icon The Commonwealth of Thieves single work   prose  
Issue Details: First known date: 2005... 2005 The Commonwealth of Thieves
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Thomas Keneally examines the transformation of Australia from a penal settlement to a modern society.

Notes

  • Epigraph: Eora people asked the question, Waube-rong orab, Where is a better country? This thief colony might hereafter become a great empire, whose nobles will probably, like the nobles of Rome, boast of their blood. The Morning Post, London. 1 November 1786.
  • Author's note: I have taken the liberty in quotations from historic sources to standardise spelling, and in the cases of misspellings left intact, to avoid the use of mannerism (sic). Any insertions I have made for the sake of clarifying the intentions of the original writers are signalled by square brackets. All Aboriginal personal and place names have variations with which generally I have avoided burdening the text, though some of the variant spellings can be found in the notes. As the text makes frequent use of imperial measurement, a conversion table to metric has been provided at the end of the book. T. K.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Milsons Point, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Random House , 2005 .
      image of person or book cover 879897015503486648.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 509p.
      Description: illus., map
      Note/s:
      • Includes bibliography.
      • Includes index.
      ISBN: 1740513371
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Chatto and Windus ,       2006 .
      image of person or book cover 7471393851468081293.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 509p.
      Description: illus., maps
      Note/s:
      • Includes bibliographical references (p. 488-494) and index.
      ISBN: 9780701178833 (hbk.), 0701178833 (hbk.)
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,      :       Talese ,       2006 .
      image of person or book cover 7352096838683447537.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: The Commonwealth of Thieves : The Improbable Birth of Australia
      Extent: 1v.p.
      Edition info: 1st US ed.
      ISBN: 038551459X (alk. paper)
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2018 .
      image of person or book cover 4868129497413260739.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 528p.
      Note/s:

      • Published 19 March 2018

      ISBN: 9780143790839
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Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.
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Works about this Work

A National (Diasporic?) Living Treasure : Thomas Keneally Paul Sharrad , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: Le Simplegadi , November no. 14 2015; (p. 20-27) Although Thomas Keneally is firmly located as a national figure, his international literary career and his novels’ inspection of colonial exile, Aboriginal alienation, and movements of people throughout history reflect aspects of diasporic experience, while pushing the term itself into wider meaning of the transnational.
Diary Tom Nairn , 2014 single work column
— Appears in: London Review of Books , 13 December vol. 29 no. 24 2014;
Literary Guide to Australia Nicholas Shakespeare , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Telegraph , 10 July 2013; 'We asked some of the world's most eminent writers to offer literary tours of the places they know best.'
Finding Redemption Down Under Edward Nowatka (interviewer), 2006 single work interview
— Appears in: Publishers Weekly , August vol. 253 no. 34 2006; (p. 40)
Founding Rogues Alison Mcculloch , 2006 single work review
— Appears in: The New York Times Book Review , 1 October vol. 111 no. 40 2006; (p. 8)
— Review of The Commonwealth of Thieves Thomas Keneally , 2005 single work prose
The Ghosts Herald the Sydney Experiment A. P. Riemer , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15-16 October 2005; (p. 19)
— Review of The Commonwealth of Thieves Thomas Keneally , 2005 single work prose
Convict & Discharge Stuart Macintyre , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 18 October vol. 123 no. 6492 2005; (p. 68-69)
— Review of The Commonwealth of Thieves Thomas Keneally , 2005 single work prose
[Review] The Commonwealth of Thieves Peter Muntz , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Bookseller & Publisher , October vol. 85 no. 4 2005; (p. 18)
— Review of The Commonwealth of Thieves Thomas Keneally , 2005 single work prose
Balanced Birth of a Nation Thomas Keneally , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 22 October 2005; (p. 10)
— Review of The Commonwealth of Thieves Thomas Keneally , 2005 single work prose
Telling the Human Tale of the Historic First Fleet Mark Thomas , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 29 October 2005; (p. 13)
— Review of The Commonwealth of Thieves Thomas Keneally , 2005 single work prose
Timely Look at Our Past Stephen Matchett , 2006 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 21-22 January 2006; (p. 44) Stephen Matchett compares the literary approach of Thomas Keneally in The Commonwealth of Thieves to that of Inga Cleninnen in Dancing with Strangers in a discussion on the causes and consequences of the arrival of the First Fleet.
Havoc in History House Stella Clarke , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 March 2006; (p. 8-9) 'As professional historians bicker, novelists are staking a claim for the primacy of fictional truth in making sense of the past.' (Editor's headline)
Finding Redemption Down Under Edward Nowatka (interviewer), 2006 single work interview
— Appears in: Publishers Weekly , August vol. 253 no. 34 2006; (p. 40)
Song of the Pen : Archival Footage Thomas Keneally , 2005 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Author , December vol. 37 no. 3 2005; (p. 6-7) Thomas Keneally describes the different methods he has used to research his novels.
Literary Guide to Australia Nicholas Shakespeare , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Telegraph , 10 July 2013; 'We asked some of the world's most eminent writers to offer literary tours of the places they know best.'
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Awards

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Last amended 30 Apr 2019 16:20:46
Subjects:
  • Botany Bay, Botany area, Sydney Southern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,
  • c
    England,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • Sydney Cove, Sydney, New South Wales,
  • 1788-1792
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