AustLit logo

AustLit

Vinten Vinten i(A108609 works by) (Organisation) assertion
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.

Works By

Preview all
2 10 y separately published work icon Lunch with the Generals Derek Hansen , Port Melbourne : Heinemann , 1993 Z463156 1993 single work novel

'Ramon, self-styled master storyteller, has steered his listeners down a sinister path littered with love and betrayal, secret police and death squads. But as the Argentinian's tale nears its startling conclusion, his audience is struck with horror at the possibility that Ramon's clever invention is nothing more than the cunningly disguised chronicle of his own shadowy past. Is Ramon a gifted artist of the imagination or the perpetrator of a terrible act of revenge that defies all forgiveness?

''Hansen is a great novelist. Only the bravest and most confident writer could grant his characters such intelligence and insight and still remain in command' - West Australian.'

Source: publisher's blurb (HarperCollins)
6 6 y separately published work icon In the Wet Nevil Shute , Melbourne : Heinemann , 1953 Z27056 1953 single work novel science fiction 'It is the rainy season. Drunk and delirious, an old man lies dying in the Queensland bush. In his opium-hazed last hours, a priest finds his deserted shack and listens to his last words. Half-awake and half-dreaming the old man tells the story of an adventure set decades in the future, in a very different world . . .'. Source: bookseller's website.
14 2 y separately published work icon The Rainbow and the Rose Nevil Shute , London : Heinemann , 1958 Z43628 1958 single work novel

'When seasoned pilot Johnny Pascoe tries to rescue a sick girl from the Tasmanian outback, his plane crashes and leaves him stranded and dangerously injured. Ronnie Clarke, who was trained by Pascoe, attempts to fly a doctor in to help, but rough weather makes his mission more difficult than he imagined. As he waits overnight at Pascoe’s house for a chance to try again the next day, Clarke revisits the past of this unusual man—and reveals the shocking and tragic secrets that have influenced his life.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Vintage International ed.).
7 y separately published work icon Most Secret Nevil Shute , New York (City) : William Morrow , 1945 Z99008 1945 single work novel

'In their trusty fishing boat Genevieve, armed with a flame thrower and limited ammunition, a small group of officers and men take a stand against the might of the German army after the fall of France in World War II. This is classic Shute: at once a thrilling adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and a heartbreaking tale of the ravages of war.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2009 Vintage ed.).
30 50 y separately published work icon On the Beach Nevil Shute , Melbourne : Heinemann , 1957 Z125153 1957 single work novel science fiction (taught in 3 units)
— Appears in: Krysolov. Na Berugu 1991;

'After the war is over, a radioactive cloud begins to sweep southwards on the winds, gradually poisoning everything in its path. An American submarine captain is among the survivors left sheltering in Australia, preparing with the locals for the inevitable. Despite his memories of his wife, he becomes close to a young woman struggling to accept the harsh realities of their situation. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up, transmitting from the United States and the submarine must set sail through the bleak ocean to search for signs of life.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2009 Vintage ed.).
25 15 y separately published work icon A Town Like Alice Nevil Shute , London : Heinemann , 1950 Z564787 1950 single work novel

'Nevil Shute’s most beloved novel, a tale of love and war, follows its enterprising heroine from the Malayan jungle during World War II to the rugged Australian outback.

'Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman living in Malaya, is captured by the invading Japanese and forced on a brutal seven-month death march with dozens of other women and children. A few years after the war, Jean is back in England, the nightmare behind her. However, an unexpected inheritance inspires her to return to Malaya to give something back to the villagers who saved her life. But it turns out that they have a gift for her as well: the news that the young Australian soldier, Joe Harmon, who had risked his life to help the women, had miraculously survived. Jean’s search for Joe leads her to a desolate Australian outpost called Willstown, where she finds a challenge that will draw on all the resourcefulness and spirit that carried her through her war-time ordeals.' (Publication summary)
4 y separately published work icon Slide Rule : The Autobiography of an Engineer Nevil Shute , London : Heinemann , 1954 Z1064030 1954 single work autobiography

'Nevil Shute was a pioneer in the world of flying long before he began to write the stories that made him a bestselling novelist. This autobiography charts Shute’s path from childhood to his career as a gifted aeronautical engineer working at the forefront of the technological experimentation of the 1920s and 30s. The inspiration for many of the themes and concerns of Shutes novels can be found in this enjoyable and enlightening memoir.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Vintage International ed.)
12 3 y separately published work icon Trustee from the Toolroom Nevil Shute , London : Heinemann , 1960 Z433730 1960 single work novel

'Keith Stewart is a quiet and unassuming man called upon to undertake an extraordinary task. A skilled maker of miniature working models, he lives a modest life devoted to his hobby. But when his sister and her wealthy husband die in a shipwreck on a coral reef in the Pacific—while trying to smuggle out of England their entire fortune in diamonds hidden in the keel of their yacht—Keith becomes trustee for his orphaned niece. To save her from destitution he must travel halfway around the world and risk a long voyage in a small boat in inhospitable waters to recover her inheritance. In the course of his adventure-filled quest, a colorful and international cast of characters mobilize to help him, and this humble man discovers he has more friends and admirers than he could have dared to imagine.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Vintage International ed.).
13 1 y separately published work icon The Breaking Wave Nevil Shute , Melbourne : Heinemann , 1955 Z556496 1955 single work novel war literature

'Alan Duncan returns to his family home in Australia after the war and several years of study in England. But his homecoming is marred by the mysterious suicide of his parents' quiet and reliable parlour-maid. A search through her belongings in search of clues leads to heartbreaking revelations about the woman's identity, the death of Alan's brother Bill, and, above all, the disappearance of his brother's fiancee, Janet.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2009 Vintage ed.).
X