AustLit
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'One of the most famous victims of the Holy Office of the Inquisition was the brilliant Dominican monk Giordano Bruno, burnt at the stake for heresy in 1600.
'Morris West recreates a diary of Bruno's intimate thoughts as he languishes in Rome's worst prison for seven years. Bruno's reflections and frank memories of his life reveal him to be both a fine thinker and a flawed priest—and a man willing to pay the highest price to be true to himself.
'The Last Confession was West's final novel, published posthumously. Written with passion and compassion, this is a voice that mesmerises from the start.'
Source: Publisher's blurb (Allen & Unwin, 2017).
Notes
-
Published posthumously.
Contents
* Contents derived from the
Pymble,
Turramurra - Pymble - St Ives area,
Sydney Northern Suburbs,
Sydney,
New South Wales,:HarperCollins Australia
, 2000 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
- The Last Confession : Foreword, single work criticism biography (p. vii-xiii)
- The Last Confession : Editor's Note, single work criticism (p. xiv-xx)
- The Last Confession : Author's Note, single work column (p. xxi)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Braille.
- Sound recording.
- Large print.
Related Works
-
y
Up in Smoke
2000
Z402584
2000
single work
novel
extract
Works about this Work
-
Morris West
2019
single work
essay
— Appears in: Wild about Books : Essays on Books and Writing 2019; (p. 72-78) 'The author of thirty books with international sales in excess of sixty million copies, Morris West was undoubtedly the most successful Australian novelist. Yet his work has received little serious, critical notice. In part this was due to academic prejudice against popular fiction. He also suffered from being labelled a Catholic novelist, as Judah Waten and Frank Hardy suffered from being labelled left-wing novelists. The chattering classes never warmed to him. The glitterati rejected him because he was a Roman Catholic and believed in God. The Catholics were unenthusiastic because of his self-appointed role as vocal critic of the church. The academics ignored him because in the years of his success fiction deemed to be commercial was not discussed in lit. crit. And since most of his fiction was set in Italy, the U.S.A. and Asia, rather than Australia, he tended to get ignored in the development of Australian Literature studies. His leaving his first marriage and leaving Australia provoked resentment in the media. In writing political thrillers about public issues, in maintaining an independent and uncompromising critical stance, he inevitably offended many powerful interest groups. His refusal to accept the offer of a formal political role from the Labor Party caused deep offence, as he recorded in his memoir, A View from the Ridge. Yet the critical industry has been able to accommodate other commercially successful writers, and other Catholic writers. West, however, was a consistently questioning, challenging, oppositional voice. Conformist Catholics saw him as troublesome and critical, the left categorized him as Catholic and failed to read him. This was a mistake.' (Introduction) -
Filipo Giordano Bruno and the Mechanics of Social Control
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Dotlit : The Online Journal of Creative Writing , August vol. 4 no. 1 2003;
— Review of The Last Confession 2000 single work novel -
[Review] The Last Confession
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian's Review of Books , August vol. 5 no. 7 2000; (p. 23)
— Review of The Last Confession 2000 single work novel -
Vale a Reluctant Heretic
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 5 August 2000; (p. 7)
— Review of The Last Confession 2000 single work novel -
Ring of Fire
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 18 July vol. 118 no. 6233 2000; (p. 102)
— Review of The Last Confession 2000 single work novel
-
Filipo Giordano Bruno and the Mechanics of Social Control
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Dotlit : The Online Journal of Creative Writing , August vol. 4 no. 1 2003;
— Review of The Last Confession 2000 single work novel -
Meeting His Maker
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 10 June 2000; (p. 7)
— Review of The Last Confession 2000 single work novel -
West's Last Rites
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 1 July 2000; (p. 21)
— Review of The Last Confession 2000 single work novel -
Final Manifesto of Heresy and Bravery
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 1 July 2000; (p. 8)
— Review of The Last Confession 2000 single work novel -
An Unorthodox Life
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 8 July 2000; (p. 20)
— Review of The Last Confession 2000 single work novel -
Quietly into the Night
2000
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 29 May 2000; (p. 79) -
Last Writes
2000
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 3 June 2000; (p. 3) -
Last Charge of an Old Warhorse
2000
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 17-18 June 2000; (p. 10) -
The Last Confession : Foreword
2000
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: The Last Confession 2000; (p. vii-xiii) -
The Last Confession : Editor's Note
2000
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Last Confession 2000; (p. xiv-xx)
Last amended 19 May 2020 13:45:24
Common subjects:
Settings:
-
Rome,
cItaly,cWestern Europe, Europe,
-
cHoly See,ccItaly,cWestern Europe, Europe,
- 1500-1599
Export this record
