num_pages: 462
description: In 1857 when Captain Illiam Quillian Kewley and his band of rum smugglers from the Isle of Man have most of their contraband confiscated by British Customs, they are forced to put their ship up for charter. The only takers are two eccentric Englishmen who want to embark for the other side of the globe. The Reverend Geoffrey Wilson believes the Garden of Eden was on the island of Tasmania. His traveling partner, Dr. Thomas Potter, unbeknownst to Wilson, is developing a sinister thesis about the races of men. Meanwhile, an aboriginal in Tasmania named Peevay recounts his people’s struggles against the invading British, a story that begins in 1824, moves into the present with approach of the English passengers in 1857, and extends into the future in 1870. These characters and many others come together in a storm of voices that vividly bring a past age to life.
language: English
title: English Passengers
titlecomplete: English Passengers
genres: Tasmania, Australia, Historical, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Travel, Novels, Literature, Adventure, Fiction
ratings_count: 7033
awards: awardedAt: 946713600000
name: Booker Prize, awardedAt: 946713600000
name: Whitbread Award
category: Novel and Book of the Year, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Miles Franklin Literary Award, awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Prix Relay du Roman d'Evasion
publisher: Penguin Books Ltd