The Mango Tree
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Mango Tree'' is a Miles Franklin Award-winning 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
Ronald McKie Ronald Cecil Hamlyn McKie (11 December 1909 – 8 May 1991) was an Australian novelist. He was born on 11 May 1909 in Toowoomba, Queensland. After receiving his education at the Brisbane Grammar School and the University of Queensland, he ...
.


Synopsis

The story follows the childhood of a young man, named Jamie, growing up in a country town in Australia during the early
20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nuclear ...
.


Critical reception

Hope Hewitt in ''The Canberra Times'' found the author to be "an excellent reporter, quickly setting scene and then swiftly changing gear and catching the cxcitement of events moving too quickly for words. The climax of this book when the fanatic Preacher Jones goes round the bend and rampages off with a gun is a gripping piece of narrative. But good documentary and good reportage are not the same as good imaginative fiction. Their purposes are different; and in trying to concentrate as we clearly are meant to, on Jamie's development to whatever sort of person he is going to be, there needs to be a much greater selection and a different scale of proportions among the too rich material Mr McKie has to draw upon."


Awards

* Miles Franklin Award, 1974 * Barbara Ramsden Award, 1974


Film Adaptation

In 1977, it was adapted into a film of the same name, directed by
Kevin James Dobson Kevin James Dobson (born 1952)page 140 is an Australian director who worked extensively in film and television. His full name is used in order to avoid confusion with the actor Kevin Dobson. Personal life Dobson was born in Manchester. He emigrat ...
, from a script by
Michael Pate Michael Pate OAM (born Edward John Pate; 26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who also worked in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early life Pate was born in Drum ...
, and featuring Gerald Fitzgerald,
Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet ( ...
and Christopher Pate in the lead roles.


References


See also

* 1974 in Australian literature 1974 Australian novels Miles Franklin Award-winning works William Collins, Sons books {{1970s-novel-stub