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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'From Bryce Courtenay comes a new novel about Africa. The time is 1939. White South Africa is a deeply divided nation with many of the Afrikaner people fanatically opposed to the English.
'The world is also on the brink of war and South Africa elects to fight for the Allied cause against Germany. Six-year-old Tom Fitzsaxby finds himself in The Boys Farm, an orphanage in a remote town in the high mountains, where the Afrikaners side fiercely with Hitler's Germany.
'Tom's English name proves sufficient for him to be ostracised, marking him as an outsider. And so begin some of life's tougher lessons for the small, lonely boy. Like the Whitethorn, one of Africa's most enduring plants, Tom learns how to survive in the harsh climate of racial hatred. Then a terrible event sends him on a journey to ensure that justice is done. On the way, his most unexpected discovery is love.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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Dedication: To Celia Jarvis.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Showman Who Knew the Power of a Story
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 24 November 2012; (p. 26-27) -
If the Plot Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Daily Telegraph , 17 December 2006;
— Review of Whitethorn 2005 single work novel -
From Africa to the Spirit World and the Killing Fields of Flanders
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 7 January 2006; (p. 14)
— Review of Whitethorn 2005 single work novel -
More Power From Courtenay
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 24 December 2005; (p. 6)
— Review of Whitethorn 2005 single work novel -
Revenge on the Veldt
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 17 December 2005; (p. 27)
— Review of Whitethorn 2005 single work novel
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Untitled
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 3 December 2005; (p. 12)
— Review of Whitethorn 2005 single work novel -
A Boy Hero to Make Dickens Proud
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 3-4 December 2005; (p. 23)
— Review of Whitethorn 2005 single work novel -
Beatings, Humiliations, Privations
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 3 - 4 December 2005; (p. 4)
— Review of Whitethorn 2005 single work novel -
Revenge on the Veldt
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 17 December 2005; (p. 27)
— Review of Whitethorn 2005 single work novel -
More Power From Courtenay
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 24 December 2005; (p. 6)
— Review of Whitethorn 2005 single work novel -
Showman Who Knew the Power of a Story
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 24 November 2012; (p. 26-27)
Awards
- 2007 longlisted International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
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cSouth Africa,cSouthern Africa, Africa,
- 1939