''The Riders'' (1994) is a novel by Australian author
Tim Winton
Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles ...
published in 1994. It was shortlisted for the
Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...
in 1995. Winton has won several literary awards.
Plot summary
''The Riders'' tells the story of an Australian man, Fred Scully, and his 7-year-old daughter Billie. Scully, as he is known, and his wife, Jennifer, have planned to move from
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 ...
to a cottage they have purchased in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. His wife and daughter are due to arrive in Ireland, but at the airport only Billie arrives, traumatised and unable to tell her father what has happened or why her mother put her on the plane alone. The story follows Scully and Billie as they travel around
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
retracing the steps of their previous travel, trying to find Jennifer and work out why she left them.
Themes
Iain Grandage
Iain Grandage is an Australian composer and music director, best known for his compositions for theatre, dance and concert. In May 2018, the Perth Festival appointed Grandage as Artistic Director.
Early life
Grandage initially lived in Brisbane ...
, who wrote the music for adaptation of ''The Riders'' as an opera, described the novel as follows: "At its heart, The Riders is about the nature of love. It deals with questions of how well we can truly know someone; how well we can truly know ourselves."
Reviews
A review in the Kirkus Review stated that, "Emotions, character, and intellect so perfectly calibrated that a modest story of love betrayed becomes, in Winton's hands, a minor masterpiece."
The Publishers Weekly described the novel as a 'suspense thriller" and a "gut-wrenching love story" and praise his descriptions of landscapes, the energy of his prose and call Winton "stunning".
Adaptations
Opera
An opera based on the novel, with libretto by
Alison Croggon
Alison Croggon (born 1962) is a contemporary Australian poet, playwright, fantasy novelist, and librettist.
Life and career
Born in the Transvaal, South Africa, Alison Croggon's family moved to England before settling in Australia, first in Bal ...
and music by
Iain Grandage
Iain Grandage is an Australian composer and music director, best known for his compositions for theatre, dance and concert. In May 2018, the Perth Festival appointed Grandage as Artistic Director.
Early life
Grandage initially lived in Brisbane ...
, was premiered in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
in September 2014.
Film
The rights to the novel were secured by Susie Brooks-Smith in 2000. In 2004,
Robert Fox signed on as producer. It was announced in 2012 that
Sam Worthington
Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Jake Sully in ''Avatar'' and its sequel, ''Avatar: The Way of Water''; Marcus Wright in ''Terminator Salvation'', and Perseus in '' Clash o ...
was cast in the lead role, with
Timothy Spall
Timothy Leonard Spall (born 27 February 1957) is an English actor and presenter. He became a household name in the UK after appearing as Barry Spencer Taylor in the 1983 ITV comedy-drama series ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''.
Spall performed in '' S ...
and
Charles Dance
Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in ''The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in ''A ...
in supporting roles. Brooks-Smith had adapted the screenplay with
Michael Hirst and Francesca Brill, and
Robert Connolly
Robert Connolly (born 1967) is an Australian film director, producer and screenwriter based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. He is best known as the director and writer of the feature films ''Balibo (film), Balibo'', ''Three Dollars' ...
would direct. It was later revealed that filming would soon begin in February 2013 in
Korčula
Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after K ...
and
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, with a planned release date for February 2014, but the project did not proceed. In February 2014, Hans Fabian Wullenweber was announced to replace Connolly as director, and
Ronan Keating
Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...
,
Luke Hemsworth
Luke Hemsworth (born 5 November 1980) is an Australian actor who is known for his roles as Nathan Tyson in the TV series '' Neighbours'' and as Ashley Stubbs in the HBO sci-fi series ''Westworld''.
He is the older brother of actors Chris Hemsw ...
, and
Mark Strong
Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963), is a British actor, best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus in '' Stardust'' (2007), Archibald in ''RocknRolla'' (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (20 ...
were all added to the cast, with Spall being the only original actor reported. Filming was set to begin in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
later that year. However, just a couple months later,
Jahmil X.T. Qubeka was announced as the new director, and an entirely new cast consisting of
Liam McIntyre
Liam James McIntyre (born 8 February 1982) is an Australian actor, best known for playing the lead role on the Starz television series '' Spartacus: Vengeance'' and '' War of the Damned'' and as Mark Mardon / Weather Wizard on ''The Flash''. He ...
,
Pixie Davies
Pixie Love Davies (born 9 December 2006) is an English actress. Born and raised in England, she began her career in 2012, starring in the BBC's ''The Secret of Crickley Hall''. After making her film debut in '' Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger'' ...
, and
Richard E. Grant were all set to appear. Pre-production would begin on May 29, with
Umedia
Umedia (formerly stylized uMedia) is an international film group based in Brussels, with offices in London, Paris, Los Angeles, and Vancouver.
History
Nadia Khamlichi, Adrian Politowski and Jeremy Burdek created the Motion Investment Group in 20 ...
funding.
In 2018, it was reported that
David Kajganich
David Kajganich (born November 15, 1969) is an American screenwriter and producer. He has written several works in the horror genre, including the film ''Blood Creek'' (2009), and the network series ''The Terror'' (2018). He has also collaborated ...
would adapt the novel and brought the film rights to
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...
to produce through his
Scott Free Productions
Scott Free Productions is an independent film and television production company founded in 1970 by filmmakers and brothers Ridley Scott and Tony Scott. They formed the feature film development company Percy Main Productions in 1980, naming the ...
company.
Awards
* 1995
Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...
for Fiction (shortlist)
* 1995
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)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riders, The
1994 Australian novels
20th-century Australian novels
APRA Award winners
Australian mystery novels
Novels about dysfunctional families
Novels adapted into operas
Novels by Tim Winton
Picador (imprint) books