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    True History of the Kelly Gang
    True History of the Kelly Gang
    True History of the Kelly Gang
    Audiobook14 hours

    True History of the Kelly Gang

    Written by Peter Carey

    Narrated by Gianfranco Negroponte

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Crusading folk hero or murderous horse thief and bank robber? Who was the real Ned Kelly? His name resonates in Australia the same way the name Jesse James does in America. As the impoverished son of an Irish convict, Kelly was cheated, lied to, and abused by the English. Committed to fighting back against oppression, Kelly and his gang of outlaws eluded police for nearly two years. Brilliantly novelized by Peter Carey, the story of the Kelly Gang unfolds from a series of 13 compassionate letters written, while on the run, by Kelly to his infant daughter. Building from this historical legend and testing our sympathies, Carey crafts a deeply humanistic piece of historical fiction-a tale of injustice and violence.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMar 11, 2008
    ISBN9781449801618
    True History of the Kelly Gang

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    Reviews for True History of the Kelly Gang

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    • 4/5
      I tried this book for no other reason than I liked the title and premise. For a story where every reader knows the inevitable outcome, it manages to be both absorbing and fresh, with a unique voice in the form of Ned Kelly's narration. There's just enough taken from history, and enough extrapolated from bits and pieces of known correspondence and journalism, to make it feel like you are reading a historically-accurate (though clearly subjective) document - which, while not quite true, comes a lot closer than most "fictionalized history" novels. It isn't thrilling, because nothing recounted in the form of letters is ever thrilling, but it exerts its own kind of hold that keeps you constantly wondering what choice Ned will make next, and either cheering for him or wanting him to hold back. That's the sign of great characterization, and will keep me on the lookout for more novels by this author.
    • 4/5
      Peter Carey decided he needed to find an authentic voice to relate the tale of Australian folk-lore out-law Ned Kelly and boy did he find one. This novel is an incredible literary feat even for someone as skilled and experienced as Peter Carey. The book pitches you head first into the blood, spit, sweat and dust at the feet of Australia's most celebrated figure and then abandons you to his care. You'd best not start whinging like a Pommie or you're not going to last three pages. A novel to be experienced rather than read.
    • 4/5
      For Australians the jury is still out on Ned Kelly. Cop killer or oppressed Robin Hood? This book seeks to give an account from Ned's point of view, an account ostensibly from Ned's own hand and indeed Ned's own mouth, such is the style. How true is the True History? I don't know but the problem I had with with this book is that it read like a true account, that is a sequence of chronological events that lacked an underlying increase in tension or drama. Yes, there was the inevitable climactic ending but the story lost momentum at times. However, it drew me in quickly and Ned's voice was engaging and authentic. The writing style took a little bit of getting used to and a comma here and there would have improved readability, without the loss of any of that authenticity. I think this book was maybe 3.5 stars for me but I gave it 4 for shining a light on the authoritarian brutality and injustice of those times, particularly for the Irish immigrants.
    • 4/5
      I knew the basic legend of Ned Kelly before I read this book, but that's about it. I enjoyed the author's take on the story behind the legend, which he brought to life using Ned's own voice. Grammatical errors and lack of punctuation caused a bit of confusion at times but I think overall made the story more believable and easier to identify with Ned as its author. The story of a hard-working boy born to a poor Irish family in late 19th century Australia, dealing with the cheating ways of the ruling English Australians makes the reader empathize quite a bit with Ned. I felt less empathy for the Kelly family as a whole, as they often were the cause of their own problems. I don't think the story places Ned in the role of hero, but it does try to make the reader understand what may have led to his criminal acts and subsequent legendary status. I enjoyed the book, although it felt a little long towards the end, where I anxiously awaited the bank robbery and armor-clad shootout.
    • 4/5
      Very evocative - brought 1800s Australian history vividly to life - and excellent characterisation in that I really felt and understood Ned Kelly's experience of the way the world was to him. I'm undecided on the writing style - perhaps I can best describe it as first person semi-literate. It probably contributed to the close connection I felt with Kelly, but - and maybe I'm just old-fashioned - it didn't contribute to an 'easy read' - not that the subject was ever going to be particularly jolly. And maybe that's another slight negative for me - there wasn't much in the way of humour - completely understandable given the topic - but it was 400+ pages knowing it was never going to end well and without much light relief.But, that said, I learnt a few things along the way and although it's probably not going to make it onto my re-read list, I'll certainly be adding some of Peter Carey's other books to my reading list.
    • 3/5
      Audiobook....Book Club book.....The initial third of this book had me totally engaged. Ned Kelly's childhood was incredible, as was the family he was born into. I also learned about the status of the Irish in Australia in the 1800s, only above the aborigines in the social structure of the times. The second third of the book became just plain annoying with trauma after trauma. Is it really possible to be bored in the face of such a tragic tale, you ask? Yes, it is. While. Listening to the audio version with a friend while on vacation, we repeatedly looked at one another and exclaimed," Oh....come ON!"The final third was an improvement over the middle. Enough said. Wait...one more thing....if I hear the word "adjectival" one more time I will have to screech!
    • 5/5
      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!
    • 5/5
      Great book.
      One of my favorite 'little known historical' books.
      Carey is a good author - I'll read more of his books.
      Wow - had not one clue about some of the facts I learned about the Kelly boys.
      Having spent some time in Australia made this exceptionally interesting. Certainly puts a face and explanation behind the Aussie Song -"Blame it on the Kellys"
      Read in 2006.
    • 5/5
      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 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.
    • 5/5
      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)
    • 5/5
      The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey is, despite it’s title, a historical fiction novel based on the life and times of Australian bushranger, Ned Kelly. The son of a transported Irishman, Ned appears to have been born to turn to a life of crime. The men on both sides of his family were well used to being harassed and locked up by the colonial police force. Being of Irish descent was a large strike against him in this English colony, and coming from poverty as he did meant there was no real avenue of escape.Although he tried at various times in his life to “go straight” he was constantly drawn back into a life of crime either by falling in with bad company or having corrupt police and judges push him in that direction. The story is written as a memoir that Ned is creating for his infant daughter, knowing that he will not be around to raise her, this added a certain mystery as I couldn’t help but wonder how reliable a narrator he was being. Although written in nineteenth century Australian slang with very little punctuation, I found this a fairly easy read as it unfolds in a straight forward linear manner. To many, Ned Kelly was a thief and a murderer, but to his own people of the lower-class, he was considered a hero. He defied the authority of the English to become the most wanted man in Australia by the age of 26 and he continued to resist the law until he was finally captured and hung. The True History of the Kelly Gang is a classic outlaw tale, well researched but still full of adventure, humor and excitement. The writing style really made me feel as if I was reading Ned Kelly’s own words and that I was getting a real history lesson about nineteenth century Australia. Highly entertaining and exceedingly clever, this is a book that I will long remember.
    • 4/5
      Our first Peter Carey novel was met with positive views all around this month. Although not all members got a chance to finish it, those who did rated it high and found Carey’s unique interpretation of Ned very enjoyable and it helped to build an empathy for the poorer immigrants of the time. We had a great discussion on Irish genealogy and the corrupt conduct of the police. Our overall perception of Ned was that given the prejudice his family experienced, he didn’t have much chance of getting on the right side of the law. Does this mean Ned Kelly was not the dangerous bushranger we are led to believe? We are not sure about that, but Carey’s take on the history certainly leaves room for doubt, and along with it, an extremely enjoyable read! Monday Night Book Club
    • 4/5
      Had I done the slightest bit of research before starting to read this book, I would have known that Ned Kelly and his "gang" were true historical figures and considered by many Australians as folk heroes. As it was I thought that Peter Carey was very clever to invent this fictional character and present him to us through a series documents supposedly written by the infamous Kelly himself. Of course, Carey did in fact write a fictional story since Kelly’s exact actions, thoughts and intentions will never be known to us and had to be made up based on historical documents. Ned’s first person account of his life story begins when he was a young boy living with his mother, six siblings, and occasionally with his father too, who was an outlaw and was repeatedly incarcerated. If we are to believe this fictional Ned’s version of the events, he became an outlaw because circumstances forced him to adopt that way of life although he was not in the least the hardened killer he was made out to be by the government and the media, and it’s hard not to feel sympathetic toward his cause. In any case, it’s an entertaining story with good guys that are bad and bad guys that are actually good, lots of horses, guns and shooting and a detailed description of what living as a poor farmer in Australia in the late 19th century, or being apprentice to an experienced bushranger (Australian outlaw) must have been like. It’s all made all the more colourful thanks to Ned’s simple "adjectival" prose which is riddled with the suggestion of expletives, although Ned’s obviously gone through pains to keep things as clean as he knew how since the raison d'être of these documents is for his daughter to one day have a true account of the events that led up to her father’s death.
    • 2/5
      Almost unreadable
    • 4/5
      Intriguing and extremely well written with an elusive, voicey narrator. Not really my thing (historical litfic) but worth a read fornthe craft aspects alone.
    • 5/5
      The life story of Ned Kelly, Australian Bushranger and Outlaw, as told through his fictional diaries. Wow, this was an amazing book. From page two I was hooked on the story and the life of this man. I found myself absolutely intrigued by him and since I started the book I have been reading about him online as well. Since the story is told through Ned's point of view we come to feel for him and root for him, perhaps as the Australian people themselves did at the time. This was a wonderful book, you really can't ask for more in a novel. The one negative comment I have is about the lack of punctuation. I don't feel it added any authenticity to the story at all but instead showed the author's own arrogance. The lack of sentence structure made this a very slow read. My reading speed decreased dramatically. I would often have to read a 'sentence' 2 or three times to understand and this particularly happened when people were speaking as the lack of quotations in the book leaves the reader unsure of who is speaking at many times. However, this should not be a deterrent to reading the book. As I read the last page I closed the book and spoke aloud to the empty room, "Wow, that was good." This book will be certainly be a contender for my best book of the year.
    • 5/5
      IMO the best thing I've read by Carey and well deserving of the Booker prize. The book follows the trials, tribulations and adventures of the legendary Australian bandit Ned Kelly as he outwits and battles with the forces of law and order. Carey's rendering of the iron helmeted clad Irish descendent cum troublemaker is not truly historical fiction--it is more of an idealized and sympathetic look at his native land's own version of Robin Hood the action mainly described by Ned in his own words and dialect in papers he writes to his infant daughter while on the run from a variety of law officers and bounty hunters. The Kelly's are certainly a rough lot but also often victims of circmumstances beyond their control and prey to the whims and vindictiveness of numerous local authorities and some not so nice, often sleazy but upstanding citizens. In any case though it ends sadly with Ned being hanged it is a very entertaining read.
    • 4/5
       Poignant and entertaining, it’s a story of a bushman and a folk hero in the 19th century Australia, Ned Kelly, told in his own voice in a form of a long lost memoir. Carey apparently came up with Kelly’s unique voice after coming across a real letter Kelly wrote to the authorities explaining why he was innocent of the crimes ascribed to him. It had its own singular grammar and no punctuation, very much like the style of the book. Carey makes Kelly a victim of circumstances, corrupt policeman, vindictive administrators, bad laws and prejudice against the Irish. I guess it's up to us to decide how reliable the narrator is, even though there is a lot apparently pointing in that direction. The book makes for great reading, even though it takes some time to get used to. It sags a bit in the middle, but is quite brilliant overall.
    • 4/5
      This "true history, " is a fictional autobiography of Australia's most notorious folk-hero and bushranger. The story of the scourge of the government of the Colony of Victoria is vividly told by native Australian Peter Carey in a primitive and compelling style inspired by Kelly's own prose.This is one adjectival effing good book, mate!
    • 4/5
      Although Ned Kelly is one of Australia’s enduring folk heroes, I previously knew nothing more about him than a few stereotypes and simplicities still lurking in my brain from my primary school days, just like Captain Cook and the Eureka Stockade and Simpson’s donkey. (There was also Ned, a comedy that errs too far towards slapstick and toilet humour, but nonetheless also contains a good deal of genuine wit.) Sometime in my days of contrary adolescent authoritarianism I concluded that Ned Kelly, despite his folk hero status, was a thief and therefore a bad person.True History of the Kelly Gang turned me around somewhat. I know it’s just fiction, but it’s well-researched fiction that seems to ring true to real life. Most of it is told from the perspective of Ned Kelly himself, in the form of a memoir he is writing to his (fictional) child, and Carey has instilled him with a wonderful narrative voice: lacking commas, expletives censored out, a general rolling conversational style that I couldn’t help but hear in an Irish accent. The story is an account of Ned’s life all the way from his childhood to his famous last stand at Glenrowan, and explains how and why he became the man he did.Ned Kelly, like many settlers in 19th century Australia, was Irish. The upper class – the landowners, the magistrates, the governors and the police – were largely English. From the very early days of his life, Ned’s family was abused and oppressed and tormented, as were his friends and neighbours, the conflicts of the old country exported to the new. This was crucial; Ned quite explicitly considered himself to be a political rebel, rising up against the English ruling class, wanting nothing more than land and freedom for himself and his family.It is, of course, a novel, but the one real surviving piece of Kelly’s writing – the Jerilderie letter – outlines the same motives and desires. Furthermore, when he was captured at Glenrowan, he was in possession of a document outlining a proposed declaration of a republic in north-eastern Victoria. As somebody who is both Irish and republican, I find my sympathies leaning towards Kelly. He was still, of course, a thief and a killer, and not somebody whom I’d like to share a milkshake with, but I understand now why many Australians revere him.I found it particularly interesting to read this directly after Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. Towards the end of True History, a character opposed to the Kelly legend says:What is it about we Australians, eh? he demanded. What is wrong with us? Do we not have a Jefferson? A Disraeli? Might we not find someone better to admire than a horse-thief and a murderer?I’ve sold my copy of Zinn’s book, so I can’t quote directly, but in the interview towards the back he talks about how we shouldn’t always look to great leaders and heroes – the Lincolns, the Churchills, the Roosevelts – but should instead rely on ourselves, the people, to pull us through harsh times. Ned Kelly is obviously a hero and an icon as well, but he’s about as close to a hero of the people as you could ever get.So, the book taught me a lot about Ned Kelly and changed my attitude towards him. Is it a good book? Yes. Not a fantastic book, and another Booker-winner that must have been the product of a slow year (like The Blind Assassin), but nonetheless a solid piece of Australian literature and something I’m glad to have read.Incidentally, my copy was published in the United States, and the blurb makes this idiotic statement: Exhilarating, hilarious, panoramic, and immediately engrossing, it is also – at a distance of many thousand miles and more than a century – a Great American Novel.How? How is this Australian novel about an Australian historical figure written by an Australian and set in Australia even remotely a “Great American Novel?” Either the publisher didn’t think Americans would read a book that wasn’t somehow related to America, or Americans really won’t read a book unless it’s somehow related to America. Both are depressing.
    • 4/5
      Thoroughly engaging story that should be required reading for both police and people working with families trying to overcome the impossible.
    • 4/5
      I liked this novel much more than the only other Carey book I have read - Oscar and Lucinda. But something kept me from really loving it; I don't know if it was the style of the writing (which I admired for what appeared to me to be its fidelity to what writing Ned Kelly might actually have been like but found wearisome after a while) or what.
    • 2/5
      This review has been crossposted from my blog Review from Rose's Book Reviews Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me.

      This novel is metafictional - Carey has taken the facts and then changed them to suit the story if it had really happened. Instead of Ned Kelly being an unforgivable highway robber, he is a painted more as a lovable modern day Robin Hood in a way. He is set on the pathway to criminality by his mother, trying to support a huge family of Irish children with no support from Ned's father.

      The language of this book is hard to get into, as Carey attempts to capture the language of Ned Kelly back in the early days of Australian history. The novel is sectioned according to where Ned's correspondence comes from. As always, Carey's writing challenges conventions.

      This book is relevant to anyone who has an interest in Ned Kelly. Sure, you aren't going to get historical facts out of it, but if you have someone who hates Australian literature (and for good reason!) or don't know very much about our 'national icon', then this is a great book to introduce them to it.

      This isn't a novel I would read of my own volition, this was yet another literature text. It was one of the more enjoyable ones to read, surprisingly since it was Australian literature! However, the language usage, although 'authentic', was very offputting for me.

      If you had to pick a Peter Carey to read out of this and Collected Stories, I'd pick this one over it. Collected Stories gives you a nice variety, but it's all very deep and meaningful. The Kelly Gang is slightly more lighthearted, and infinitely easier reading.

      It is very sensitively written, and doesn't contain any swearing, though of course Ned comes up with his own adjectival curses! It's likely suitable for teens, and certainly for adults.

      As with many books for my literature classes, I didn't purchase this book, rather I borrowed it from my local library. I don't think I would reread for pleasure, although others may feel differently.
    • 4/5
      I quite enjoyed this book, but it took me a loooooong time to read! It's not one that I could pick up and read a100 pages in a night. Peter Carey does a really great job of bringing Ned Kelly to life.
    • 5/5
      Wow, this was amazing. Ned Kelly, legendary Australian bushranger, tells his story in an urgent vernacular style. I was completely convinced both that this was his voice and that the Kelly family had been unjustly persecuted by the law for years. He was sent to prison at age 15 and by the time he was 26 had killed policemen and was the most wanted man in Australia. He and his gang took over towns and robbed banks but were known to share their takings with the poor. I knew how it would end - Ned’s gang’s last standoff wearing forged metal armor is the stuff of legends - but I was fascinated by how the whole thing unfolded. The book seems to have followed the truth pretty closely, according to Wikipedia. Kelly did write a long document explaining himself that is now in a museum.
    • 5/5
      Although I have no burning desire to visit Australia, I find something especially appealing in most Aussie culture, including books, films and music. Peter Carey its one of my favorite authors. There is a density to his writing that I love. He is such a wonderful storyteller that his books pull me forward, reading faster than I want to. His writing is so good that I want to slow down and savor it but it's hard. This book in particular, written as if in Ned Kelly's own hand, was a joy. It added immeasurably to the sense of time and place.....Australia in the late 1800's. Telling the true tale of Ned Kelly, a classic everyman hero, Peter Carey honors his country's must famous outlaw.
    • 4/5
      Loved this for the language, and the portrayal of Ned Kelly as a victim of circumstance.
    • 4/5
      This book is probably better to listen to than to read. The language is very pleasant, rolling over you. Loved the use of "adjectival" - it kept making me smile. The structure of the novel is intriguing and the author made some interesting choices. I knew nothing of this piece of history and it's easy to see why the story still has power and significance to Australians.
    • 5/5
      Ned Kelly was an Australian outlaw bushranger in the 1800s. His Irish father was convicted of a crime and sent to Van Diemen's land. The family settled in Australia after his release. Ned was forced into adulthood at an early age, and was sent to be an apprentice to another bushranger at the age of 15. From there he fell into a life of crime, and gained notoriety by consistently eluding capture. However, he also remained fiercely loyal to his large family, especially his mother and brother.Peter Carey recounts Ned's life story in Ned's own voice, complete with the grammatical anomalies and lack of punctuation that might be expected from a semi-literate young man. The story is compelling and the character development, wonderful. Ned Kelly is a violent criminal, and yet very likeable. I actually found myself cheering him on in his escapades with the police.True History of the Kelly Gang reminded me of other "outlaw" tales, like the story of Jesse James, or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. This is not a subject that I'm particularly interested in, and I only read this book because it won the Booker Prize in 2001. I was not disappointed; in fact, I found this book absolutely delightful and difficult to put down. Peter Carey is one of only two authors to win the Booker Prize twice (the other is J. M. Coetzee). Now I can't wait to read his 1988 Booker winner, Oscar and Lucinda.
    • 4/5
      A historical novel in the form of the rough and rustic memoir of real 19th century Australian outlaw Ned Kelly. Sometimes bleak, sometimes funny; the story of the first and second generation of poor Irish settlers in Australia.Quote: "They arrived in broken cart & drays they was of that type THE BENALLA ENSIGN named the most frightful class of people they couldnt afford to leave their cows & pigs but they done so because we was them and they was us and we had showed the world what convict blood could do. We proved there were no taint we was of true bone blood and beauty born."