Strange Notations From a Laborious Life

 Peter Fitzsimons is a former Rugby Union player who turned out for the Wallabies in the hey day of his career and has lately turned his hand to journalism, writing columns which are syndicated in papers in many states of Australia.

 He is also a prolific writer of books, more importantly, books pertaining to some of the greatest events in the short history of this nation. The Eureka Stockade, Kokoda campaign, Siege of Tobruk and many other tales of the modest and the great produced by this country have been studied and recorded in his narratives. Gallipoli is apparently his next target. Quite admirable I think.

 I’m not sure if I would call him a great writer but his work has what I would call a “homely” feel, free of the intellectual stuffiness and minute details many scholars offer in works of the same nature, making his books very readable for the general public. Thus they have sold in their droves. And good luck to him.

 It was with some interest that I found out last night that he is about to start a month long promotional tour for his new book. The subject of his latest fancy is probably the most famous Australian of all. Edward “Ned” Kelly.

Why anyone would want to write a book on Ned Kelly is beyond me given the the numbers of tomes which have been inflicted on the public since the great bushranger was hanged in Melbourne 133 years ago this month. His life has been studied and rehashed time and again, sometimes in erudite fashion and sometimes in slipshod style. These histories of a life less ordinary have ranged from hero worship of a Robin Hood type figure to the reputation trashing opinion of those who can only see the world in black or white. In between, there have been some diamonds in the rough, notably from Keith McMenomy and Ian Jones who, in spite of his obvious admiration for his subject, has produced the most thorough work on Ned Kelly of any author.

 In other words, books on the life of Ned Kelly have produced the good, the bad and the ugly and I am interested to read Peter Fitzsimons’ take on the Kelly saga, a story which he described in an online interview today as the most thrilling in Australian history. Not sure I can argue with that.

 So, without having read the book which I have actually purchased today on my Kindle e-reader, a full three weeks before the book is released in Australia and twenty six dollars cheaper than what it will be selling for in the bookshops, I would recommend giving Peter Fitzsimons and his biography of Ned Kelly a go. I have a feeling I, and you, won’t be disappointed with his efforts.

 Have a nice day.