''The Last Wizard'' is a 1995

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...

Tony Shillitoe Tony Shillitoe is an Australian fantasy writer. His first novel ''Guardians'' was published in 1992 by Pan Macmillan. It was the first part of the Andrakis trilogy, soon followed by ''Kingmaker'' and ''Dragonlords'' in 1993. The trilogy was ...

. It follows the story of Tamesan who lives in a land where Wizards have been outlawed. Rejecting the way of the other women Tamesan chooses to study the art of healing and discovers the secret behind Dragon Mountain.

Background

''The Last Wizard'' was first published in Australia in 1995 by

Pan Macmillan Pan Books is a publishing imprint (trade name), imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the United Kingdom, British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. Pan Books b ...

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...

format. It was a short-list nominee for the 1995 Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel but lost to

Garth Nix Garth Richard Nix (born 19 July 1963) is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the ''Old Kingdom'', '' Seventh Tower'' and '' Keys to the Kingdom'' series. He has frequently been asked if his ...

's '' Sabriel''. The central character was created as a homage by Shillitoe to his daughters to remind them that socio-gender stereotyping is worth challenging. ''The Last Wizard'', despite being long out of print, is still used as a text in schools .

Synopsis

Essentially a 'coming of age' teenage novel, ''The Last Wizard'' follows the efforts of Tam, daughter of the village Head, to establish her own place in the world while unravelling the dark secrets of her village culture.

References

External links

* 1995 Australian novels Australian fantasy novels Pan Books books {{1990s-fantasy-novel-stub