English Passengers

2000 historical novel by Matthew Kneale

English Passengers

First edition (publ. Hamish Hamilton)

Author| Matthew Kneale
Publisher| Hamish Hamilton

Publication date

| March 14, 2000
Awards| Whitbread Book Award (2000)
ISBN| 978-0-241-14068-0

English Passengers (ISBN 0-385-49744-X) is a 2000 historical novel written by Matthew Kneale,[1] which won that year's Whitbread Book Award and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Miles Franklin Award. It is narrated by 20 different characters and tells the story of a voyage to look for the Garden of Eden in Tasmania and the decimation of that island’s indigenous population[2] of Aboriginal Tasmanians.

## Plot summary

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In 1857, after their attempts to smuggle contraband goods land them with a heavy fine from the British Customs, Captain Illiam Quillian Kewley and his crew of Manx sailors from Peel are forced to offer their ship for charter. The vessel is quickly hired by a party of Englishmen headed by an eccentric Vicar, the Reverend Geoffrey Wilson, who believes that the Garden of Eden is located in Tasmania and wants to mount an expedition there to find it. However, unbeknownst to the clergyman, one of his fellow travellers has an entirely different reason for journeying to the island. Dr Thomas Potter is a renowned surgeon who is developing a thesis on the races of man and hopes to find some interesting specimens there.

Running parallel with this story, but starting some 30 or so years earlier, are the recollections of Peevay, one of Tasmania's natives, who describes the devastating impact the white settlers had on his people, and the Aboriginal people's struggle to adapt to the cultural changes which were forced on them.

Many of the chapters alternate between the two different time periods, but when the Manx ship eventually docks in Tasmania, both strands of the story are brought together for the book's conclusion.

## Reception

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English Passengers was well received among British press,[3][4] as well as other critical reviews.

Kirkus Reviews called it "impressively knowledgeable, and very moving historical novel,"[5] while Publishers Weekly referred to it as a "rich tale"; they highlighted how "somehow Kneale manages to keep the reader from becoming confused", despite the novel being "told by 20 different voices skipping back and forth across the years", crediting "Kneale's careful research and colorful storytelling result in an impressive epic".[6]

Awards for English Passengers Year  | Award  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|

2000  | Booker Prize | Shortlist  | [7]
Miles Franklin Award | Shortlist  | [citation needed]
Whitbread Book of the Year | Winner | [7][8]
2002  | Relay Prix d'Evasion | Winner | [citation needed]

## References

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1. ^ "All hands on deck". The Guardian. 4 March 2000. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
2. ^ Roth, Henry Ling (1899). "The Aborigines of Tasmania". Halifax U.K.: F. King & Sons.
3. ^ "Books of the moment: What the papers said". The Daily Telegraph. 25 March 2000. p. 12. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
4. ^ "Books of the moment: What the papers said". The Daily Telegraph. 1 April 2000. p. 70. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
5. ^ "English Passengers". Kirkus Reviews. 20 May 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
6. ^ Talese, Nan A. (28 February 2000). "English Passengers". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
7. ^ a b "Literature: Matthew Kneale". British Council. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
8. ^ "Past Winners" (PDF). Costa Book Awards. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 December 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2022.

## External links

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* A brief summary of the book together with points for discussion

*[Ref.]: Reference