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9781473625358

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One of the most enjoyable, high spirited and technically accomplished works of a long career. The Australian He succeeds, with touches of brilliance, in bringing to life characters in more detail than history ever possibly could Philip Dwyer, Sydney Morning Herald Writing Napoleon's Last Island from Betsy's perspective allows Keneally to entertain readers with his trademark verve and impishness. Few can match him as a storyteller Meredith Jaffe, Guardian (Australia)

Betsy and Napoleon are depicted as subversive spirits in rebellion against the island's narrow-minded gossips and protocols ... Ultimately, what interests Keneally is the netherworld of the British Empire. Betsy and Napoleon provide an axis of unlikely friendship around which to spin a sceptical view of power in all its forms: domestic, local, colonial and imperial. -- Ruth Scurr Literary Review The outspoken Betsy is a terrific character, a force of nature and source of pride and appalled anxiety to her devoted family ... [There are] some glorious moments ... lit with Keneally's trademark impish humour. He is a magpie, as preternaturally inquisitive as Napoleon himself, and the book has a cast of characters to rival Dickens. -- Clare Clark Guardian Keneally's Betsy is a vivid, attractive portrait of a young girl brinking on young womanhood and a thoroughly useful device. Through her he can view the emperor clearly - as an absurd figure, a joker, a voracious devourer of food, women, information. But there is so much more here, too. The flora and geography of the island are beautifully evoked, the inhabitants drawn in sharp, succinct strokes ... a pure pleasure to read. -- Nick Curtis Evening Standard One of the most enjoyable, high spirited and technically accomplished works of a long career. The Australian He succeeds, with touches of brilliance, in bringing to life characters in more detail than history ever possibly could Philip Dwyer, Sydney Morning Herald Writing Napoleon's Last Island from Betsy's perspective allows Keneally to entertain readers with his trademark verve and impishness. Few can match him as a storyteller Meredith Jaffe, Guardian (Australia)

The outspoken Betsy is a terrific character ... [There are] some glorious moments ... lit with Keneally's trademark impish humour. He is a magpie, as preternaturally inquisitive as Napoleon himself, and the book has a cast of characters to rival Dickens. -- Clare Clark Guardian Immersive and charming ... Keneally's Betsy is a vivid, attractive portrait of a young girl brinking on young womanhood and a thoroughly useful device. Through her he can view the emperor clearly - as an absurd figure, a joker, a voracious devourer of food, women, information. But there is so much more here, too. The flora and geography of the island are beautifully evoked, the inhabitants drawn in sharp, succinct strokes ... a pure pleasure to read. -- Nick Curtis Evening Standard Through Betsy, Keneally beautifully resurrects a voice of the sort lost in official versions of history -- Claire Allfree Daily Mail A typically polished yarn by a grand master of historical fiction. -- Max Davidson Mail on Sunday One of the most enjoyable, high spirited and technically accomplished works of a long career. The Australian He succeeds, with touches of brilliance, in bringing to life characters in more detail than history ever possibly could Philip Dwyer, Sydney Morning Herald Writing Napoleon's Last Island from Betsy's perspective allows Keneally to entertain readers with his trademark verve and impishness. Few can match him as a storyteller Meredith Jaffe, Guardian (Australia)

Betsy and Napoleon are depicted as subversive spirits in rebellion against the island's narrow-minded gossips and protocols ... Ultimately, what interests Keneally is the netherworld of the British Empire. Betsy and Napoleon provide an axis of unlikely friendship around which to spin a sceptical view of power in all its forms: domestic, local, colonial and imperial. -- Ruth Scurr Literary Review One of the most enjoyable, high spirited and technically accomplished works of a long career. The Australian He succeeds, with touches of brilliance, in bringing to life characters in more detail than history ever possibly could Philip Dwyer, Sydney Morning Herald Writing Napoleon's Last Island from Betsy's perspective allows Keneally to entertain readers with his trademark verve and impishness. Few can match him as a storyteller Meredith Jaffe, Guardian (Australia)

Author Information

Thomas Keneally began his writing career in 1964 and has published more than thirty novels since. They include Schindler's Ark, which won the Booker Prize in 1982 and was subsequently made into the film Schindler's List, and The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith, Confederates and Gossip From The Forest, each of which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He has also written several works of non-fiction, including his memoir Homebush Boy, Searching for Schindler and Australians. He is married with two daughters and lives in Sydney.

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