True History of the Kelly Gang (2001)

Despite the word ‘true’ this is a work of fiction, but despite that it is a work of immense talent. True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey is a remarkable portrayal of a man who continues to inspire contradictory emotions in those who have an opinion on the topic.

Most people who know anything about Australia would have heard about Ned Kelly. Outlaw – bushranger – killer – criminal – robber – hero – anti-colonial fighter. These are some of the popular ways in which Edward ‘Ned’ Kelly has been written into the Australian historical narrative. The novel offers a rare opportunity to go beyond these tags, and delve into the life of a man to find out what events and individuals worked their magic or poison to bring Kelly to that infamous armour-clad Glenrowan shoot-out.

Kelly’s childhood is crisscrossed with various clashes with the colonial police, and the biggest blow comes when his father is imprisoned. Kelly’s relationship with his strong-willed and selfish mother, his apprenticeship under the bushranger Harry Power, his attempts to make a lawful living, the robberies, his continuous brushes with the police (often ending in death to the latter) and his relationship with Mary Hearn are all documented in fine detail. All these chapters in Kelly’s life are made more than populist gossip – they are given context, they are given emotions and are thus brought to life.

True History of the Kelly Gang also explores the moral codes that bound the people to each other in a time of outright discrimination and hard living. It makes its own statement about the land laws of the time, which were clearly bent for the benefit of the landowners. It stands testament to how the colonial landowners exploited the masses, whether in labour, land or resources, and how a corrupt police overlooked these glaring injustices.

The novel is presented as 13 parcels of papers purported to be written by Kelly himself, addressed to his daughter, so she may know the ‘truth’ when she grows up. He will never lay eyes on her, and knowing this, he wants to set the record straight himself. The papers have come to light following his death and are now part of the collection of the Melbourne Public Library. The novel, printed in yellowing paper, is even bound in such a way that it resembles loose leaves. It creates a very credible effect, indeed.

Ned Kelly (Source: National Archives of Australia)

The language, set in the vernacular style and bringing out Kelly’s Irish heritage, is a great match for the deeply descriptive narration – it’s meant to be the way Kelly would have written it as the thoughts came to him. Forget grammar as you know it and abandon punctuation to the classroom. It is his story, narrated in his voice. In fact, Carey had come across the Jerilderie letter dictated by Ned Kelly to Joe Byrne in 1879, the contents of which were key to the style in the novel. 

True History of the Kelly Gang, which won the 2001 Booker prize, will always be an important narrative to a true story that has achieved mythological proportions. It’s an adventure filled with love, loss, justice and above all strength and belief.

Here’s a bush ballad written by Joe Byrne (friend and fellow member of the Kelly gang) about Kelly:

My name is Ned Kelly,
I'm known adversely well.
My ranks are free,
my name is law,
Wherever I do dwell.
My friends are all united,
my mates are lying near.
We sleep beneath shady trees,
No danger do we fear.