True History of the Kelly Gang

True History of the Kelly Gang

Author	Peter Carey
Language	English
Genre	crime fiction
Publisher	University of Queensland Press
Publication date	2000
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Print (Hardcover and paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-7022-3236-X

True History of the Kelly Gang is a crime fiction novel by Australian writer Peter Carey. It won the 2001 Booker Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize in the same year. Despite its title, the book is essentially a fictional variation on the Ned Kelly story.

The novel takes place in 19th century Australia. Australia acted as a penal colony from 1788 to 1866. During that time, 806 ships brought around 162,000 male and female convicts to the large island. Some of the more serious British criminals were shipped over to prevent further crimes in Great Britain. About 24% of the individuals shipped over were Irishmen, in this case, the ancestors of the Quinn and Kelly families.

Setting Background

Australia acted as a penal colony. The convicts sent to Australia were ordered to serve their sentence by doing labor for the entirety of their detainment. Convicts were seen as a means of improving and developing the British colony. Many of them were on details ordered to construct public infrastructure and facilities. Numerous businessmen built factories in Australia to capitalize on the cheap labor provided by the convicts. Similarly, convicts would work for the free settlers as well as the land holders. By 1820 a lot of the convicts finished serving their sentences and were released and by 1830 only about 6% of the convicted population of Australia was locked up. Many of the released convicts were given plots of land and with that responsibility. By the mid 1800s the population of Australia was around one million people. The population was able to sustain themselves and thus Australia continued to grow.

Historical Backround on Ned Kelly

Edward 'Ned' Kelly was born in 1855 in Beveridge Victoria. His father 'Red' Kelly was a convicted irishman who, after his release, found work at the farm of James Quinn. At age 30 Kelly married Quinn's daughter Ellen. 'Red' Kelly was arrested when he killed and skinned a calf and was required to serve six months hard labour. The treatment of his father helped form Ned's opinion of the police at a young age. 'Red' Kelly died when Ned was only eleven, after which he was forced to leave school to become head of the family. Shortly after this the Kelly family moved to the Glenrowan area of Victoria. In Australia, folk tales are still told of the poverty of Ned Kelly's childhood. Before Ned had been declared an outlaw, eighteen charges had been brought against members of his family with only half of them resulting in guilty verdicts. This is an important aspect in understanding the idolizing of Ned Kelly since many people were able to view the Kelly's as victims instead of outlaws.

Plot summary

The novel is presented as having been hastily written on scraps of paper by Ned Kelly himself, and it expands on the story told in the real life Jerilderie Letter. Carey departs from what is known about Kelly's life by providing him with a lover and a daughter, for whom he has been recording his life history whilst on the run from the police.

The novel is written in a distinctive vernacular style, with little in the way of punctuation or grammar. Although there is much profanity in the novel, it has all been censored (save the racist terms) for the benefit of Kelly's fictional daughter.

The book does however remain close to the real chronology of Ned Kelly's life. It captures and expands upon the tone of Kelly's actual writing style demonstrated in his Jerilderie Letter.

Prologue

The novel begins with an undated account of the capture of Ned Kelly from the point of view of an eyewitness. The witness is presumably educated as they write coherently in standard English. The witness seemingly aligns with the authority's effort against the, "wild beast[Kelly]."

The text sets up a conflict between Kelly and the authority. Kelly is "nothing human...no head but a very long thick neck and an immense chest," while the police are described as valiant. As the police shoot at him, he taunts them for their corruption :"You shoot children, you f-----g dogs. You can't shoot me." The prologue ends when Kelly is taken down with a shot to his leg. When he is captured by the police, all of his belongings are confiscated, including thirteen chapters of a letter to his daughter, which open the novel.

Parcel One

His Life until the Age of 12

Peter Carey writes as Ned Kelly to his daughter. Kelly writes to his daughter that she is "presently too young to understand a word," thus his daughter must be too young to read. He began to form his views of his father and mother, and how the rest of the world treated them at this stage of his life. Ned recalls an incident when his mother baked a cake to bring to her imprisoned brother James. The English warden first had to search the cake by breaking it apart with his clean white fingers, then forced her to shove it under the door to James' cell in the rain. A few years later, a Sergeant O'Neil came on to Ned's mother, Ellen, while his father was away. When Ned tried to defend her, O'Neil called him a coward and told him a story about Ned's father running through a townsmen's yard in a woman's dress. When Ned and his sister really found the dress buried in their yard, he burned it to destroy any evidence of his father's shame.

Carey repeatedly uses the color red and blue to reveal a character's superiority or inferiority. The color red resembles warmth and success, thus those in the novel that are rich are characterized as being dressed in red. In contrast, the color blue resembles cold, thus those in the novel that are poor are characterized as being dressed in blue. For instance, Ned's mother is characterized as wearing a "bright blue silk dress" whereas the Judge was wearing "his wig and his bright red robes". Since the Judge is wearing red, he is thus superior than others including Ned's mother. Ironically, later in the novel, Carey displays the blacks as wearing red. During that time, blacks were seen as inferior, but Carey chooses to characterize the blacks as superior. In addition, despite the fact that Ned's mother is inferior, she too wears a bright red dress. Perhaps she wishes to be rich and economically successful. Or maybe she is greater in her own way.

In this parcel, we see the strength of Ned’s mother. It shows through in the story of bringing her brother a cake in prison. This symbol of love for her brother is broken by the police man and yet she does not say anything because “she understood she must hold her tongue.” Here she recognizes that she must refrain from fighting back because she cannot win. Even though she has in the past she won her court case against Bill Frost. The reader than knows that she is capable and yet she is submissive. This reaffirms that she choose to remain silent. This is a different kind of strength than that which won her court case. It probably took more energy to hold back as she watched the destruction of what she had created out of love for her brother than to speak out.

Parcel Two

"His Life Ages 12-15"

This Parcel opens with the death of Ned Kelly's father. The family then moves to Greta to live with Ned's Aunts, Kate and Jane. Next in the story comes the arrival of Kelly's Uncle James. James tries to seduce Kelly's mother, but she rejects his advances. In response, James Kelly burns down the Kellys' house down. James is sent to prison and ultimately sentenced to death.

Meanwhile, the Kelly family recieves a new parcel of land near Eleven Mile Creek where Kelly's mother illegally sells alcohol while Ned works the land.

Both Harry Power and Bill Frost begin to court Ned's mother. They each compete for her affection, and Ned's mother seems to show Harry some favor. Harry is a criminal and often shows up to the Kelly's house with presents that consist of stolen goods.

Alex Gunn, another potential suitor arrives, but it is revealed that he is courting Ned's sister Annie, who has been maturing over the course of this parcel. Ned is taken aback by this revelation, and the parcel ends with Alex Gunn's engagement to Annie.

Parcel Three

"His Life at 15 Years of Age"

This Parcel opens with...Annie and Alex Gunn's wedding party. Ned feels awkward around the girls his age and cannot wait for dinner to be served. He told his mother that he would be happy to help with Harry Power; without hesitation she suggests that Ned spend more time with him "more in the nature of a ride" (p. 66). They mount the horse and off Ned and Harry go on a long ride together.

Parcel Four

"His Life at 16 Years of Age"

This Parcel opens with Ned's sister Annie's wedding to Alex Gunn, where Ned's mother asks him what he thinks of Harry Power. She then tells him to spend some time with the bushranger, which in turn marks Ned's entrance into the world of the outlaw. He becomes Harry's sidekick who holds the horses and carries stolen goods, yet the whole time he wants to return home. However, Harry's suggestion about Ned's mother's marraige to Bill Frost makes Ned try to accept a new idea of home that Harry introduces, one that has a relationship with nature and is not clearly defined.

Later, a strong paralle is made between Ned's life and that of an injured sniphorse. The animal was The phrase "such is life" that were used to refer to the iminant death of the horse are teh same as Ned's last words before execution later in the novel, suggesting that the horse is a metphor for Ned Kelly.

Ned then leaves Harry Power and takes on the role of being the man of his mother's house. He cuts trees again, which makes him the provider and the brave member of the family. He rivals Bil Frost, his new step-father, in hierarchy and in respectability.

At the end of the parcel, Ned is arrested for Highway Robbery and is beaten for not revealing where Harry Power lives. The parcel ends with a new character, Zinke, who was hired to be his solicitor. The suggestion is made that Harry Power paid for his services.

Parcel Five

"His Early Contact with Senior Policemen"

Parcel five begins with Ned returning home and confessing to his mother that "the traps are looking for" him because he stole McBean's horse. His mother replies that the police are all over the place looking for Tom Lloyd because they think he stole the horse. She also suggests that Ned should lead the cops to believe Lloyd is the culprit. Demonstrating his loyalty, Ned refuses to let Tom be punished for his crime.

When Sgt. Whelan arrests Ned, he promptly takes him to the Benalla Police station, where two English officers, Hare and Nicolson, interrogate Ned. Hare speaks loudly and cruelly, threatening to arrest Tom Lloyd, to take away Ned's mother's land, and to arrest Ned's entire family. Nicolson suggests that Ned should "give some information" about Harry Power for his "own protection." Even though Ned calls Harry an "adjectival mongrel," "a liar," and "a thief," he refuses to divulge Harry Power's whereabouts to the officers. This interaction between the officers and Ned advances the idea that while the wealthy, authoritative figures are corrpupt and cruel, the lower-class Irishman values honesty and loyalty.

The next morning, Hare and Nicolson visit Ned's mother and offer her money in exchange for information about Harry Power. She refuses. Back at the Benalla Court, McBean commits perjury when he swears on the bible that Ned did not rob him. Revealing even more corruption, Hare and Nicolson "play[...] with justice" and randomly drop more of Ned's charges and transport him to Melbourne. There, Ned fights the Constable (who stands in for the Commissioner) and wins, but does not receive the promised prize of freedom.

At night, the Constable brings blankets and food to Ned's cold jail cell and introduces himself as John Fitzpatrick. Unsuccessfully attempting to gain Ned's trust, John warns him about the police's unpredicatably cruel nature and suggests that they will take away his mother's land because they do not want his family living in the district.

Three weeks after Ned's arrest, the officials drop his charges and Ned returns home. However, his entire family ignores him because they think he offended his family in the worst possible way by being a traitor and turning in Harry Power. Ned's anger overwhelms him to the point where his "hands shake" and his feelings "jump[...] like a slice of bacon on the pan" because his mother does not initially believe that the Lloyds sold Harry. Finally, Parcel five ends with Ned's mom apologizing and proclaiming that Ned is a "good son."

Parcel Six

"Events Precipitated by the Arrest of Harry Power"

This Parcel opens with many uncles and aunts, especially Jimmy and Pat Quinn, angry at Ned Kelly. All except his mother and the guilty Aunt Lloyd continue to believe that Ned betrayed Harry Power to the authorities. Because of his false reputation as a traitor, Ned Kelly is rejected by his community and has trouble looking for work.

Finally, Cons Hall and Constable Archdeacon at the police station offer Ned a job. As Ned works to repair a fence, his uncles Jim and Pat come arrive to threaten and terrify him. Hall and Archdeacon act cowardly, but they encourage Ned to start a fight with his uncles. Hall and Archdeacon attempt to arrest Jim and Pat, but they fail, sending them all to court in Benalla. At his testimony, Ned tries to save his uncles from punishment because he does not want to betray his family members. Yet, the uncles are sent to prison for their violence against the police, and Ned is more hated by his extended family. Ned has also angered Cons Hall with the statements he made against Hall in court.

As the Kelly household lives in poverty and exile because their family and community continue to look down upon Ned’s “actions”, Ben Gould, the hawker, comes to stay in their home. He brings laughter back into the Kelly home. One morning they find the McCormick’s horse on their property. Mrs. Kelly sends her child, Jem to return the horse, but the McCormick’s later approach the Kelly home accusing them of working the horse before returning it. Ben Gould makes Ned deliver a package of “calf’s testicles writing a note to say McCormick should tie them to himself before he shagged his wife.” McCormick, along with many other drunkards, spy Ned and begin shouting at him. Mrs. McCormick strikes Ned’s horse causing Ned’s arm to hit Mr. McCormick in the nose. Cons Hall arrests Ned, and Ned is sentenced to jail for six months for striking McCormick and for the gift of the calf’s testicles, both of which were not his own purposeful actions.

Ned Kelly is released from prison as a fully grown man. On his way home, he trades horses with Wild Wright, friend of his brother-in-law. As he travels, Con Hall stops Ned tries to shoot him. Ned finds out that the horse he is holding for Wright is actually stolen. Con Hall gets other men to help him beat down Ned, and Ned is again sent to court. Ned Kelly is sentenced to three years hard labour where he will lose all chances of ever experiencing a youthful life.

Parcel Seven

"His Life Following His Later Realease from Pentidge Gaol"

This Parcel opens with....

Parcel Eight

"24 Years"

This Parcel opens with....

Parcel Nine

"The Murders at Stringybark Creek"

This Parcel opens with....

Parcel Ten

"The History Is Commenced"

This Parcel opens with....

Parcel Eleven

"His Life at 25 Years of Age"

This Parcel opens with....

Parcel Twelve

"Conception and Construction of Armour"

This Parcel opens with....

Parcel Thirteen

"His Life at 26 Years of Age"

This Parcel opens with....

The Siege At Glenrowan

This Parcel opens with....

Death of Edward Kelly

He died because he was caught and hung

"No sooner was the knot fixed than, without the prisoner being afforded a chance of saying anything more, the signal was given; and the hangman pulling down the cap, stepped back and, withdrawing the bolt, had done his work....The body was allowed to remain hanging the usual time, and the formal inquest was afterwards held. The outlaw had requested that his mother might be released from Melbourne Gaol and his body handed over for burial in consecrated ground. Neither of these requests were granted, and the remains were buried within the precincts of the gaol."

Trivia

• In a curious effort to attract American readers to the story, the book's publisher, Alfred Knopf, heralded the book as a "great American novel", even though it is completely based in Australia and involving Australian characters and events. The claim that this book is an "American novel" appears to be based on the fact that Peter Carey, an Australian, has lived in New York for over a decade.
• Excepting the frame narrative of "S.C," the novel does not contain any commas.

About the author Peter Carey was born in 1943 in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. He later studied at the Monash University where he was influenced by writers Barry Oakley and Morris Lurie. He moved to New York in the late 1980s where he teaches creative writing at New York University.