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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Artem Samsurov, a charismatic protege of Lenin and an ardent socialist, reaches sanctuary in Australia after escaping his Siberian labour camp and making a long, perilous journey via Japan. But Brisbane in 1911 turns out not to be quite the workers' paradise he was expecting, or the bickering local Russian emigres a model of brotherhood.
'As Artem helps organise a strike and gets dangerously entangled in the death of another exile, he discovers that corruption, repression and injustice are almost as prevalent in Brisbane as at home. Yet he finds fellow spirits in a fiery old suffragette and a distractingly attractive married lawyer, who undermines his belief that a revolutionary cannot spare the time for relationships. When the revolution dawns and he returns to Russia, will his ideals hold true?
'Based on a true story, The People's Train brings the past alive and makes it resonate in the present. With all the empathy and storytelling skills that he brought to bear in Schindler's Ark, Tom Keneally takes us to the heart of the Russian Revolution through the dramatic life of an unknown, inspiring figure. Like Schindler, Samsurov was no saint, but he was an individual who played a vital role in world-changing events.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
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Dedication: To Judith
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Braille.
Works about this Work
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A National (Diasporic?) Living Treasure : Thomas Keneally
2015
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Le Simplegadi , November no. 14 2015; (p. 20-27) Although Thomas Keneally is firmly located as a national figure, his international literary career and his novels’ inspection of colonial exile, Aboriginal alienation, and movements of people throughout history reflect aspects of diasporic experience, while pushing the term itself into wider meaning of the transnational. -
Review of The People's Train
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Queensland Journal of Labour History , March no. 12 2011; (p. 38-41)
— Review of The People's Train 2009 single work novel -
Poole-Fried Collection
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Found in Fryer : Stories from the Fryer Library Collection 2010; (p. 74-75) Keneally discusses the Poole-Fried collection in the Fyer Library which provided the source material for his novel. -
Master of Our Human Comedy
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , December vol. 4 no. 11 2009; (p. 6-7) -
Reds under the Beds
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 8 November 2009; (p. 13)
— Review of The People's Train 2009 single work novel
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Bolshie Biggles
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , August vol. 4 no. 7 2009; (p. 21)
— Review of The People's Train 2009 single work novel -
[Review] The People's Train
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 8 August 2009; (p. 24)
— Review of The People's Train 2009 single work novel -
Utopian Journey
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8-9 August 2009; (p. 17)
— Review of The People's Train 2009 single work novel -
All Aboard for a Revolution
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 8 August 2009; (p. 24)
— Review of The People's Train 2009 single work novel -
Railroaded into the Revolution
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 1 - 2 August 2009; (p. 21)
— Review of The People's Train 2009 single work novel -
Fact and Fiction
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 1-2 August 2009; (p. 4-5) -
Chasing Schindler
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 8 August 2009; (p. 6-7) -
Bolshevik Brisbane is Real Fiction
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 19 - 20 September 2009; (p. 56) -
Master of Our Human Comedy
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , December vol. 4 no. 11 2009; (p. 6-7) -
Poole-Fried Collection
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Found in Fryer : Stories from the Fryer Library Collection 2010; (p. 74-75) Keneally discusses the Poole-Fried collection in the Fyer Library which provided the source material for his novel.
Awards
- 2010 longlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 2010 shortlisted South East Asia and South Pacific Region — Best Book
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cRussia,ccFormer Soviet Union,cEastern Europe, Europe,
- Brisbane, Queensland,
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cAustralia,c
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Siberia,
cRussia,ccFormer Soviet Union,cEastern Europe, Europe,
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St Petersburg,
cRussia,ccFormer Soviet Union,cEastern Europe, Europe,
- 1911-1917