''Proteus'' (1979) is a novel by Australian writer Morris West. It was originally published by

Collins Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middle- ...

in England in 1979.

Synopsis

The novel's protagonist is John Spada, an Italian-American who leads a multinational corporation. He also secretly heads a covert organisation called Proteus, aiming to free prisoners of conscience around the world. To achieve this, Proteus threatens to release a deadly botulism culture into selected cities' water supply.

Critical reception

John Philip in ''The Canberra Times'' thought that the "essence of a gripping yarn is there; but the story, as it unfolds, falters and finally fails." He concluded: "All in all, a disappointing novel. A great deal of action is developed around a topical theme; but finally Morris West loses touch with reality." In her literary study of West and his work, Maryanne Confoy noted: "In ''Proteus'' West was trying to discover whether the goodness of one human being could triumph over the evil of another. If the thoroughly evil person violated a thoroughly good person, could such a violation be overcome by goodness alone? Would the good person have to resort to evil in the effort to sustain live."''Morris West: Literary Maverick'' by Maryanne Confoy, John Wiley & Sons, 2005, p159

Publication history

After its original publication in 1979 in England by publishers

the novel was later published as follows: * William Morrow, USA, 1979 *

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

, Australia, 2017 and many other paperback editions. The novel was translated into: Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Brazilian, Danish, Norwegian, German, French and Spanish in 1979; Finnish, Swedish and Japanese in 1980; Hebrew in 1982; and Slovenian in 1985 .

Notes

* Dedication: For the Prisoners of Conscience of whom to our shame there are far too many. * Epigraph: "It is becoming more and more obvious that it is not starvation, not microbes, not cancer, but man himself who is mankind's greatest danger because he has no adequate protection against psychic epidemics, which are infinitely more devasting in their effect than the greatest natural catastrophes." ''Modern Man in Search of a Soul'', C. G. Jung

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proteus 1979 Australian novels Works by Morris West

Synopsis

Critical reception

Publication history

Notes

See also

References