AustLit logo

AustLit

image of person or book cover 7382052415839763404.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon Paris Savages single work   novel   historical fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 2019... 2019 Paris Savages
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.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'On beautiful Fraser Island in 1882, the population of the Badtjala people is in sharp decline following a run of brutal massacres. When German man Louis Müller offers to sail eighteen-year-old Bonny to Europe, along with twenty-two year old Jurano and his fifteen-year-old niece, Donordera, the proud and headstrong Bonny agrees.

'Accompanied by Müller’s bright and grieving daughter, Hilda, the group begins their journey to perform in Hamburg, Berlin, Paris and eventually London in the hope of seeking help from the Queen of England.

'While crowds in Europe are enthusiastic to see the unique dances, singing, fights, and pole climbing from the oldest culture in the world, the attention is relentless, and the fascination of scientists intrusive. Bonny is not a passive victim, and starts to earn money from mocking the crowd, but when disaster strikes, he must find a way to return home.

'A story of love, bravery, culture and the fight against injustice, Paris Savages brings a little-known part of history to blazing life, from one of Australia’s most intriguing novelists.' (Publication summary)

Notes

  • Epigraph: the human zoo is not the exhibition of savagery but its construction 

    [le zoo humain n'est pas l'exhibition de la sauvagerie,

    mais la construction de celle-ci]

    - Bancel et al, Zoos Humains

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Paddington, Kings Cross area, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales,: Ventura Press , 2019 .
      image of person or book cover 7382052415839763404.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 300p.
      Note/s:
      • Published October 2019

      ISBN: 9781925384703
    • Paddington, Kings Cross area, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales,: Ventura Press , 2021 .
      image of person or book cover 150945028509496399.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 352p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 28 July 2021

      ISBN: 9781920727529 (pbk), 9781920727321 (ebk)
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Allison & Busby ,
      2021 .
      image of person or book cover 8518625085459973556.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 352p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 18 February 2021.
      ISBN: 9780749026127, 074902612X
Alternative title: Selvaggi
Language: Italian
    • Rome,
      c
      Italy,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Jimenez ,
      2021 .
      image of person or book cover 3028613869131371075.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 350p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published March 2021.
      ISBN: 9788832036237

Works about this Work

Difficult Historic Tale Well and Truly Told Rohan Wilson , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 28 December 2019; (p. 15)

— Review of Paris Savages Katherine Johnson , 2019 single work novel

'For the white Australian writer, the question of how to portray Aboriginal history in fiction is a fraught one. Novels of this kind require the author to cross cultural boundaries in an attempt to imagine the subjectivity of someone entirely unlike themselves. This difficult task is further complicated by the gaps in the archival record that introduce a range of trade-offs and decisions into the creative process.' (Introduction)

Frozen in Time, the Casts of Indigenous Australians Who Performed in ‘Human Zoos’ Are Chilling Katherine Johnson , 2019 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 11 November 2019;
Difficult Historic Tale Well and Truly Told Rohan Wilson , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 28 December 2019; (p. 15)

— Review of Paris Savages Katherine Johnson , 2019 single work novel

'For the white Australian writer, the question of how to portray Aboriginal history in fiction is a fraught one. Novels of this kind require the author to cross cultural boundaries in an attempt to imagine the subjectivity of someone entirely unlike themselves. This difficult task is further complicated by the gaps in the archival record that introduce a range of trade-offs and decisions into the creative process.' (Introduction)

Frozen in Time, the Casts of Indigenous Australians Who Performed in ‘Human Zoos’ Are Chilling Katherine Johnson , 2019 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 11 November 2019;
Last amended 15 Feb 2023 12:00:47
Settings:
  • Fraser Island, Maryborough - Hervey Bay - Fraser Island area, Maryborough - Rockhampton area, Queensland,
  • Hamburg,
    c
    Germany,
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • Berlin,
    c
    Germany,
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • Paris,
    c
    France,
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • London,
    c
    England,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • 1882
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X