English Passengers

Nov 27, 2025 11:02 PM

Author:Matthew Kneale

English Passengers

WINNER OF THE WHITBREAD BOOK AWARD 2000

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2000

'Deeply impressive. . . Every page fizzes with linguistic invention' Guardian

An electrifying modern classic - Kneale's sweeping adventure storyvividly brings a past age to life

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 travelling 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 big, ambitious novel with a rich historical sweep and a host of narrative voices . . . The sort of novel that few contemporary writers have either the imagination or the stamina to sustain' Daily Telegraph

Reviews

A marvellous novel

—— Jonathan Coe , Guardian

The most significant novel yet about Korea. For the first time, a Korean author has fused both classical and contemporary indigenous poetry with the skill and breadth of vision expected of an international writer

—— Keith Howard , Times Literary Supplement

This book goes to the heart of the artist's greatest concern: the freedom to create, the courage to create in a climate of uncertainty and repression

—— Alfred Eibel , Quotidien de Paris

'A very gripping story . . . the reader is drawn in inexorably to discover what horror lies at the heart of it . . . an apocalyptic fable for today'

—— John Spurling , The Times Literary Supplement

'Many respectable judges would put Edric in the top ten of British novelists currently at work . . . as a writer, he specialises in the delicate hint and the game not given away'

—— D.J. Taylor , Spectator

'It will be surprising if this year sees a more disturbing or haunting novel'

—— Peter Kemp , The Sunday Times

'Stunning . . . evocatively brings to life the stifling humidity and constant rainfall of the Congo'

—— John Cooper , The Times

'A really brilliant first novel, he is obviously a major talent'

—— Prunella Scales

'The match of the madder moments of John Irving or Tom Sharpe...this is a promisingly entertaining "lite" read'

—— The Times

'At its best when taking pot-shots at a wide variety of modern ills - fast food, tabloid media, downsizing, soap-opera politics...One of Morgan's nicer inventions is a computer program that boils down complex texts to their essentials. Its treatment of the Old Testament renders it down to: "Because I say so, that's why"'

—— Independent

'Suspenseful, atmospheric and highly intelligent, Jody Shields focuses a brilliant light on the murky world of imperial Vienna'

—— D. M. Thomas

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