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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'In 1915 sisters Naomi and Sally Durance answer a call for nurses to join the war effort. They are escaping the family dairy farm in the Macleay Valley, and they carry a secret with them. Soon they are in Egypt, where they are put to work on the Red Cross hospital ship Archimedes as it patrols the Dardanelles. On Archimedes they witness Mars in all his ferocity, as he pummels soldiers in the massive, brutal metal brawl that is Gallipoli. Yet the sisters and their newfound nursing friends, with whom they will witness undreamt-of carnage and take care of unspeakably blighted men, find themselves courageous in the face of the horror.
'Naomi, Sally and their gang are then sent to northern Europe, where Naomi nurses in the visionary Australian Voluntary Hospital run by the committed and eccentric Lady Tarlton, and Sally in a casualty clearing station next to the Western Front. Here, again, they must face the inhumanity of war in its many terrible guises - where trench warfare and gas abound. But it is here, too, that the sisters meet the remarkable men with whom they wish to spend the rest of their lives.
'Inspired by journals of Australian nursing sisters who gave their all to the Great War effort and the men they nursed, The Daughters Of Mars is vast in scope yet extraordinarily intimate. This is Keneally at the height of his storytelling powers; a stunning tour de force to join the best of First World War literature, and one that casts a fresh light on the challenges faced by the Australian men and women who voluntarily risked their lives for peace.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
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Dedication:
To the two nurses,
Judith and Jane
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This title was selected in the December 2013 Library Journal Top 5 : Best Books - Historical Fiction
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Large print.
Works about this Work
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The Art in Fiction : Thomas Keneally
2023
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Journal of Commonwealth Literature , June vol. 58 no. 2 2023; (p. 280–292)'The article picks up references to novelist Thomas Keneally’s interest in painting and tracks his uses of artists and painting in selected fiction. Visual art supplies style and thematic depth to Bring Larks and Heroes, is integral to the complexity underpinning the murder-mystery of A Victim of the Aurora, allows narrative perspective and structural coherence in Confederates, and connects with elements in The Daughters of Mars that echo the novelist’s positioning of his work across both Europe and Australia, and between commercial and literary fiction.' (Publication abstract)
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History Writ Large
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 23 March 2013; (p. 34) -
Review : The Daughters of Mars
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 27 no. 2 2013; (p. 220-221)
— Review of The Daughters of Mars 2012 single work novel -
Witness to War
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The New York Times Book Review , 18 August 2013; (p. BR15)
— Review of The Daughters of Mars 2012 single work novel -
A Year of Experimentation: Australian Fiction Moving On
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , June vol. 58 no. 1 2013; (p. 92-108)
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Sisters in War
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 2 June 2012; (p. 19)
— Review of The Daughters of Mars 2012 single work novel -
Where Angels Fear to Tread
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2-3 June 2012; (p. 37)
— Review of The Daughters of Mars 2012 single work novel -
Endurance
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June no. 342 2012; (p. 22)
— Review of The Daughters of Mars 2012 single work novel -
Books
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane News , 6 - 12 June no. 885 2012; (p. 26)
— Review of The Daughters of Mars 2012 single work novel ; My Hundred Lovers 2012 single work novel -
[Review] The Daughters of Mars
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 9 June 2012; (p. 22)
— Review of The Daughters of Mars 2012 single work novel -
History Writ Large
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 23 March 2013; (p. 34) -
A Year of Experimentation: Australian Fiction Moving On
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , June vol. 58 no. 1 2013; (p. 92-108) -
The Art in Fiction : Thomas Keneally
2023
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Journal of Commonwealth Literature , June vol. 58 no. 2 2023; (p. 280–292)'The article picks up references to novelist Thomas Keneally’s interest in painting and tracks his uses of artists and painting in selected fiction. Visual art supplies style and thematic depth to Bring Larks and Heroes, is integral to the complexity underpinning the murder-mystery of A Victim of the Aurora, allows narrative perspective and structural coherence in Confederates, and connects with elements in The Daughters of Mars that echo the novelist’s positioning of his work across both Europe and Australia, and between commercial and literary fiction.' (Publication abstract)
Awards
- 2014 longlisted International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
- 2013 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year
- 2013 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
- 2013 longlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 2012 winner Colin Roderick Award
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cEgypt,cNorth Africa, Africa,
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Gallipoli,
cTurkey,cMiddle East, Asia,
- Western Europe, Europe,
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London,
cEngland,ccUnited Kingdom (UK),cWestern Europe, Europe,
- Kempsey area, Mid North Coast, New South Wales,
- 1910s