''A Private Man'' (2004) is a crime novel by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n author

Malcolm Knox Sir Thomas Malcolm Knox (28 November 1900 – 6 April 1980) was a British philosopher who served as Principal of St Andrews University from 1953–1966 and Vice-president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1975–1978. Biography Knox ...

. It won the 2005

Ned Kelly Award The Ned Kelly Awards (named for bushranger Ned Kelly) are Australia's leading literary awards for crime writing in both the crime fiction and true crime genres. They were established in 1996 by the Crime Writers Association of Australia to rewar ...

for Best First Novel.

Plot summary

Dr John Brand has been dead for two days and his eldest son, Davis, suspects a cover-up. Another son, Chris, is batting to save his career in the Sydney Test, and a neglected third, Hammett, lurks in the background. During the five days of the cricket match, the family struggles with the death and its recriminations.

Reviews

Simon Caterson in ''The Age'' notes that the novel "makes the audacious thematic move of presenting porn as a male obsession as widespread as porn's much more socially acceptable entertainment counterpart, sport".

Awards and nominations

* 2005 winner

— Best First Novel * 2005 commended

Commonwealth Writers Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...

— South East Asia and South Pacific Region — Best Book * 2005 shortlisted Tasmania Pacific Region Prize — Tasmania Pacific Fiction Prize * 2005 longlisted

Miles Franklin Literary Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...

* 2005 shortlisted

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

— Christina Stead Prize for Fiction * 2006 longlisted

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Private Man, A 2004 novels Australian crime novels Ned Kelly Award-winning works