''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'' is a 1972

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. ...

-nominated Australian novel by

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, ...

, and a 1978

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n film of the same name directed by

Fred Schepisi Frederic Alan Schepisi ( ; Kael, Pauline (1984). '' Taking It All In''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 55. born 26 December 1939) is an Australian film director, producer and screenwriter. His credits include '' The Chant of Jimmie ...

. The novel is based on the life of

bushranger Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up " robbery unde ...

Jimmy Governor, the subject of an earlier book by Frank Clune.

Story outline

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is set in 19th century New South Wales and tells the ultimately tragic story of Jimmie, an Aboriginal man caught between his family and culture and white settler colonialism. The story is written from the perspective of Jimmy Blacksmith, an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

man on a mission of revenge. The story is a fictionalised retelling of the life of the infamous Indigenous bushranger Jimmy Governor. Keneally has said that were he to write the novel today he would not write 'from within a black consciousness'.

Notes

* Dedication: To the Memory of Peter Cady iedJanuary, 1971.

Awards

The novel was nominated for the

in 1972, losing to

John Berger John Peter Berger (; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism '' Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to the ...

's '' G.''. The film won the Best Original Music Score (

Bruce Smeaton Bruce Smeaton (born 5 March 1938) is an Australian composer who is well known for a variety of Australian film and television scores in all genres, including features, shorts, television, documentaries and advertisements. His scores include '' ...

), Best Actress in a Lead Role (

Angela Punch McGregor Angela Punch McGregor (born 21 January 1953, in Sydney) is an Australian stage and film actress. Film credits Her film credits include: ''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'' (1978), ''Newsfront'' (1978), '' The Island'' (1980), '' The Survivor'' ...

) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role ( Ray Barrett) and was nominated for 9 more awards at the

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsi ...

(AFI) for 1978. It was also nominated for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

(Golden Palm) at the

1978 Cannes Film Festival The 31st Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 30 May 1978. The Palme d'Or went to the L'albero degli zoccoli by Ermanno Olmi. This festival saw the introduction of a new non-competitive section, 'Un Certain Regard', which replaces 'Les Yeux Fe ...

Other

'The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith' by Australian Roots-Rock band

The Groovesmiths The Groovesmiths are an Australian roots-music band, founded by Gavin Shoesmith, former bass guitarist from John Butler Trio. Originally located in Darwin, Northern Territory, Shoesmith relocated to Fremantle. The band is recognized for its un ...

is also based on the story.

References

1972 Australian novels Australian novels adapted into films Novels by Thomas Keneally Novels set in Australia Australian historical novels Novels about race and ethnicity Angus & Robertson books {{1970s-novel-stub