Ned Kelly
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Love him or loathe him, Ned Kelly has been at the heart of Australian culture and identity since he and his gang were tracked down in bushland by the Victorian police and came out fighting, dressed in bulletproof iron armour made from farmers’ ploughs.
Historians still disagree over virtually every aspect of the eldest Kelly boy’s brushes with the law. Did he or did he not shoot Constable Fitzpatrick at their family home? Was he a lawless thug or a noble Robin Hood, a remorseless killer or a crusader against oppression and discrimination? Was he even a political revolutionary, an Australian republican channelling the spirit of Eureka?
Peter FitzSimons, bestselling chronicler of many of the great defining moments and people of this nation’s history, is the perfect person to tell this most iconic of all Australian stories. From Kelly’s early days in Beveridge, Victoria, in the mid-1800s, to the Felons’ Apprehension Act, which made it possible for anyone to shoot the Kelly gang, to Ned’s appearance in his now-famous armour, prompting the shocked and bewildered police to exclaim ‘He is the devil!’ and ‘He is the bunyip!’, FitzSimons brings the history of Ned Kelly and his gang exuberantly to life, weighing in on all of the myths, legends and controversies generated by this compelling and divisive Irish-Australian rebel.
Historians still disagree over virtually every aspect of the eldest Kelly boy’s brushes with the law. Did he or did he not shoot Constable Fitzpatrick at their family home? Was he a lawless thug or a noble Robin Hood, a remorseless killer or a crusader against oppression and discrimination? Was he even a political revolutionary, an Australian republican channelling the spirit of Eureka?
Peter FitzSimons, bestselling chronicler of many of the great defining moments and people of this nation’s history, is the perfect person to tell this most iconic of all Australian stories. From Kelly’s early days in Beveridge, Victoria, in the mid-1800s, to the Felons’ Apprehension Act, which made it possible for anyone to shoot the Kelly gang, to Ned’s appearance in his now-famous armour, prompting the shocked and bewildered police to exclaim ‘He is the devil!’ and ‘He is the bunyip!’, FitzSimons brings the history of Ned Kelly and his gang exuberantly to life, weighing in on all of the myths, legends and controversies generated by this compelling and divisive Irish-Australian rebel.
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PRAISE FOR PETER FITZSIMONS
'Peter FitzSimons is an Australian phenomenon.' The Canberra Times
'[FitzSimons] knows how to make words race like eager sled dogs on their homeward run.' Newcastle Herald
'Meticulously researched, well-written and incredibly presented.' Weekend Notes
Customer Reviews
Fantastic
I have read Peters books for years and this one is once again outstanding and a little different to other Ned Kelly books I have read a must read for anybody wanting to read about a Australian hero or murder however you see him and I am sure you will be caught up in this book and want to keep reading and reading
Ned Kelly
An Australian story well researched. Fitzy provides exceptional narrative which places the reader in the story. Difficult to put the book down..!!
Well done Fitzy - now for Captain Thunderbolt....please
Superb!
Wonderfully written and researched. The reader is left to make up their own mind as to whether Ned is villain or hero.
A compelling account of a well known Australian story. We know the story, we know the ending, but you'll barely able to put this book down all the same.