AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'In the backstreets and dives of Hobart Town, Mary learns the art of brewing and builds the Potato Factory, where she plans a new future. But her ambitions are threatened by Ikey's wife, Hannah, her old enemy. The two women raise their separate families, one legitimate and the other bastard. As each woman sets out to destroy the other, the families are brought to the edge of disaster.' (Publication summary)
Adaptations
-
form
y
The Potato Factory
( dir. Robert Marchand
)
Australia
:
Screentime
Golden Square Pictures
,
2000
Z829450
2000
single work
film/TV
'The story [of] Ikey Soloman (the inspiration for Charles Dicken's Fagin in Oliver Twist), his mistress Mary Abacus and Ikey's wife Hannah. Set in London and Van Dieman's [sic] Land (Tasmania) in the mid-19th century'.
Source: NFSA. (Sighted: 11/11/2013)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Braille.
- Sound recording.
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
26 Aussie Books You Must Read
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 24 January 2015; (p. 18-19) 'With Australia Day upons us...26 great Australian Books that have helped shape and define our nation...' -
Showman Who Knew the Power of a Story
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 24 November 2012; (p. 26-27) -
Historical Fiction
2011
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 10-11 September 2011; (p. 4) -
Distortion and Caricature
2004
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 175 2004; (p. 47-52)Sackville-O'Donnell asserts that there are serious flaws in Courtenay's depictions of Ikey and Hannah Solomon, the two Jewish characters in The Potato Factory. (The Solomons were real people and their lives were quite well documented.) Although Courtenay has claimed that his novel was thoroughly and seriously researched, Sackville-O'Donnell contends that Courtenay's claims cannot be substantiated.
Providing examples of inconsistencies between the fictional representation and historical documents, Sackville-O'Donnell suggests that 'Courtenay has distorted and ignored the vast bulk of documented material on Ikey Solomon, and created a grotesque Jewish caricature that has nothing in common with the complex personality that is the documented Ikey Solomon.'
-
Offensive : Bryce Courtenay's Distortion of Isaac "Ikey" Solomon
2004
extract
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Jewish News , 21 May vol. 70 no. 34 2004; (p. 17)
-
Courtenay's New Novel Lingers in the Senses
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 November 1995; (p. C10)
— Review of The Potato Factory 1995 single work novel -
The Power of One Who Knows What Sells
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 11 November 1995; (p. 12A)
— Review of The Potato Factory 1995 single work novel -
A Never-Ending Tale of Two Authors
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 11 November 1995; (p. 10)
— Review of The Potato Factory 1995 single work novel -
Courtenay Boils Up a Winner
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser Magazine , 25 November 1995; (p. 6)
— Review of The Potato Factory 1995 single work novel -
Dickens with a Twist
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25-26 November 1995; (p. rev 7)
— Review of The Potato Factory 1995 single work novel -
Offensive : Bryce Courtenay's Distortion of Isaac "Ikey" Solomon
2004
extract
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Jewish News , 21 May vol. 70 no. 34 2004; (p. 17) -
Distortion and Caricature
2004
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 175 2004; (p. 47-52)Sackville-O'Donnell asserts that there are serious flaws in Courtenay's depictions of Ikey and Hannah Solomon, the two Jewish characters in The Potato Factory. (The Solomons were real people and their lives were quite well documented.) Although Courtenay has claimed that his novel was thoroughly and seriously researched, Sackville-O'Donnell contends that Courtenay's claims cannot be substantiated.
Providing examples of inconsistencies between the fictional representation and historical documents, Sackville-O'Donnell suggests that 'Courtenay has distorted and ignored the vast bulk of documented material on Ikey Solomon, and created a grotesque Jewish caricature that has nothing in common with the complex personality that is the documented Ikey Solomon.'
-
Historical Fiction
2011
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 10-11 September 2011; (p. 4) -
Showman Who Knew the Power of a Story
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 24 November 2012; (p. 26-27) -
Sailing Close to the Wind of Anti-Semitism
1997
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 26 July 1997; (p. wkd 8)
Awards
-
London,
cEngland,ccUnited Kingdom (UK),cWestern Europe, Europe,
- Van Diemen's Land (1803-1856), Tasmania,
- 1800-1899