Jack Maggs
 | |
| Author | Peter Carey |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Parallel Novel |
| Publisher |
UQP (Australia) Faber & Faber (UK) Knopf (US) |
Publication date |
1997 (Australia & UK) 1998 (US) |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 392 pp |
| ISBN | 0-7022-2952-0 |
| OCLC | 37500556 |
| 823 21 | |
| LC Class | PR9619.3.C36 J33 1997 |
| Preceded by | The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith |
| Followed by | True History of the Kelly Gang |
Jack Maggs (1997) is a novel by Australian novelist Peter Carey.
Plot summary
Set in 19th century London, Jack Maggs is a reworking of the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations. The story centres around Jack Maggs (the equivalent of Magwitch) and his quest to meet his 'son' Henry Phipps (the equivalent of Pip), who has mysteriously disappeared, having closed up his house and dismissed his household.
Maggs becomes involved as a servant in the household of Phipps's neighbour, Percy Buckle, as he attempts to wait out Phipps or find him in the streets of London. He eventually cuts a deal with the young and broke up-and-coming novelist Tobias Oates (a thinly disguised Charles Dickens) that he hopes will lead him to Phipps. Oates, however, has other plans, as he finds in Maggs a character from whom to draw much needed inspiration for a forthcoming novel which he desperately needs to produce.
Critical reception
Hermione Lee called the book 'an imaginative and daring act of appropriation'.[1]
References
- ↑ Screen Adaptations, Great Expectations, Brian McFarlane, p.47
Awards and nominations
- 1998 Miles Franklin Award, winner
- 1998 Commonwealth Writers Prize, South-East Asia and South Pacific Region, Best Book, winner
- 1998 Commonwealth Writers Prize, Overall Best Book Award, winner
- 1997 The Age Book of the Year Fiction Prize, winner
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Glade within the Grove |
Miles Franklin Award recipient 1998 |
Succeeded by Eucalyptus |
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