The Mango Tree is a Miles Franklin Award-winning novel by Australian author Ronald McKie.[1]

The Mango Tree
First edition
AuthorRonald McKie
LanguageEnglish
PublisherCollins, Australia
Publication date
1974
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Pages211
ISBN0-00-221586-1
OCLC1120471
823
LC ClassPZ4.M15754 Man3 PR9619.3.M256
Preceded byThe Heroes 
Followed byThe Crushing 

Synopsis

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The story follows the childhood of a young man, named Jamie, growing up in a country town in Australia during the early 20th century.

Critical reception

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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."[2]

Awards

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Film Adaptation

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In 1977, it was adapted into a film of the same name,[5] directed by Kevin James Dobson, from a script by Michael Pate, and featuring Gerald Fitzgerald, Robert Helpmann and Christopher Pate in the lead roles.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Taylor, Cheryl. McKie, Ronald Cecil (1909–1991). Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  2. ^ ""Honest but uneven novel"". The Canberra Times, 7 June 1974, p8. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  3. ^ ""Fiction novice wins top prize"". The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 April 1975, p9. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  4. ^ ""Awards by Fellowship of Australian Writers"". The Canberra Times, 5 March 1975, p16. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Austlit – The Mango Tree – film/TV adapatation". Austlit. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  6. ^ "IMDB – The Mango Tree". IMDb. Retrieved 13 July 2023.

See also

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