May 29, 2006
"Tasmania is a byword for remoteness," renowned British author Shakespeare (The Dancer Upstairs) observes at the beginning of his meticulous, lyrical history of the island and his family's time on it. In 1999, Shakespeare moved with his wife to Tasmania, 140 miles off the Australian coast and "the most beautiful place I had seen on earth." A relative's subsequent discovery of a cache of old letters reveals that Shakespeare is descended from Anthony Fenn Kemp, an infamous Tasmanian pioneer. Shakespeare's work traces Kemp's history, turning up a slew of fascinating, often grim tales, including riffs on cannibalism, murder, lingering racism against Aborigines, and the early settlers' open disregard for anything but personal gain. For what amounts to the record of a family tree, Shakespeare's writing is transcendent-readers will gain a deep understanding not only of Tasmania's history, but of the forces that have shaped its isolated peoples' nature. Although Shakespeare loses his focus toward the end of the lengthy volume, his skill as a storyteller never wavers. 16 black and white illustrations.
June 15, 2006
Novelist Shakespeare ("The Vision of Elena Silves") has written a fascinating book about his adopted home, the little-known island of Tasmania, located off the southeast coast of Australia. He follows the history of his ancestor, the scoundrel Anthony Kemp (often called the -Father of Tasmania -), who played a large part in Tasmania's early colonization. Along the way, he also explores the history and treatment of Tasmanian Aboriginals, the convict ships and the -King of Iceland, - the possibly extinct Tasmanian tiger, muttonbirds, Merle Oberon (Tasmanian or not), and the unique environment and challenges of this isolated land. As Shakespeare describes it, Tasmania is a secret and rarely visited place that has been both Elysium and Hades. As a history and an introduction to the country, this book is an irresistible account of a mysterious and beautiful land. Highly recommended." -Melissa Stearns, Franklin Pierce Coll. Lib., Rindge, NH"
Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 15, 2006
Seduced by the pristine air and innate beauty of the island, Shakespeare (" The Dancer Upstairs, " 1997) settled in Tasmania, halfway around the world from England, a place almost synonymous with " remote." A chance discovery of a cache of letters unearthed from his paternal grandmother's basement revealed that an ancestor had settled there nearly 200 years earlier, and that man, Anthony Fenn Kemp, a ne'er-do-well but successful heir to a merchant in the drinks trade, was known as the Father of Tasmania. Later, Shakespeare's mother learned that some of her relatives had emigrated to Tasmania, impelling Shakespeare to seek out two spinster sisters, both in their 80s, who lived in the north-west of the island. Shakespeare, prompted by these fortuitous discoveries, has assembled a fascinating and expansive history of the island, from its penal-colony origins, when it was known as Van Diemen's Land, to its present-day status as an Australian state. In between, Shakespeare tells of Kemp; the convict Jorgen Jorgenson, who, briefly, was the king of Iceland; the assimilation of the island's aboriginal population; and the tragic story of Merle Oberon, who claimed to be from exotic Tasmania to hide the fact of her ignoble birth out of wedlock in Calcutta. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)