''Gossip from the Forest'' is a novel by the Australian author

Thomas Keneally Thomas Michael Keneally, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his non-fiction novel '' Schindler's Ark'', the story of Oskar Schindler's rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, ...

which deals with the negotiations surrounding the ending of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Subject matter

"In ''Gossip from the Forest'', Keneally offered a concentrated fictional presentation of the peace talks that took place in the

Forest of Compiègne The Forest of Compiègne (french: Forêt de Compiègne, ) is a large forest in the region of Picardy, France, near the city of Compiègne and approximately north of Paris. The forest is notable as the site of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 b ...

in November 1918, focusing on the highest-ranking German negotiator, Mattias Erzberger, a liberal pacifist.

Critical reception

According to the

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

Paul Fussell Paul Fussell Jr. (22 March 1924 – 23 May 2012) was an American cultural and literary historian, author and university professor. His writings cover a variety of topics, from scholarly works on eighteenth-century English literature to commentar ...

, Gossip from the Forest 'is a study of the profoundly civilian and pacific sensibility beleaguered by crude power.... it is absorbing, and as history it achieves the kind of significance earned only by sympathy acting on deep knowledge.' Robert E. McDowell in World Literature Today concluded that 'with ''Gossip from the Forest'' Keneally has succeeded better than in any of his previous books in lighting the lives of historical figures and in convincing us that people are really the events of history.'"Biography: Thomas Keneally
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Notes

* "Dedication: To My Father." * "Author's note: In the season in which this book was written, the French government persisted in exploding nuclear devices above the ocean where my children swim."

Awards and nominations

Man 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 prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

shortlisted A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

1975 *

FAW Barbara Ramsden Award The Barbara Ramsden Award was administered by Fellowship of Australian Writers and awarded annually to an author and editor in recognition of the efforts of both parties to produce a quality fiction or non-fiction book. The winners receive a mem ...

for the Book of the Year, 1975: joint winner

Adaptations

* "Screenplay", Season 1, Episode 1, UK television adaptation. This first screened on 19 July 1979. The teleplay was written and directed by Brian Gibson, and featured Ray Armstrong, Hugh Burden, David Calder, and Paul Clayton.Internet Movie DataBase
/ref> * Theatre Adaptation by

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

. The play premiered on 5 May 1983.AustLit database
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External links

* Book review by Danny Ye

References

Novels by Thomas Keneally 1975 Australian novels Novels set during World War I Fiction set in 1918 Novels set in Picardy William Collins, Sons books {{1970s-WWI-novel-stub