100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ

Auckland Bookstore open Sunday until 5pm! ๐ŸŽ‰

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith

Series: A&R Classics
3.68 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 1,834 ratings, 127 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally explores the life of a half-Indigenous, half-European man in early 20th-century Australia. Jimmie, caught between two worlds and experiencing systemic racism and exploitation, seeks to assert his identity and dignity. As tensions rise, the story delves into themes of identity, injustice, and the quest for belonging, highlighting the impact of cultural clashes and personal strife.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2500
Elsewhere:
$2699
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you are fascinated by powerful narratives that explore themes of identity and injustice. Set in turn-of-the-century Australia, it offers a gripping tale of struggle and survival, focusing on a man caught between two cultures. The intense storytelling and rich character development might appeal to those who appreciate historical fiction that challenges social norms.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A student's guide to Thomas Keneally's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith - a prescribed text for VCE English 2003-2004.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The classic by Booker Prize-winner Thomas Keneally

When Jimmie Blacksmith marries a white woman, the backlash from both Jimmie's tribe and white society initiates a series of dramatic events. As Jimmie tries to survive between two cultures, tensions reach a head when the Newbys, Jimmie's white employers, try to break up his marriage. The Newby women are murdered and Jimmie flees, pursued by police and vigilantes. The hunt intensifies as further murders are committed, and concludes with tragic results.

Thomas Keneally's fictionalised account of the 1900 killing spree of half-Aboriginal Jimmy Governor is a powerful story of a black man's revenge against an unjust and intolerant society.

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a compelling exploration of the destructive consequences of cultural conflict and the enduring struggle for justice.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally is praised for its powerful exploration of racial tensions and social injustices in Australia during the early 20th century. Reviewers appreciate Keneallyโ€™s vivid and compelling narrative style, which immerses readers in the turbulent experiences of its protagonist, Jimmie Blacksmith. The novel's portrayal of systemic inequality and its emotional depth receive particular acclaim, resonating strongly with readers interested in historical fiction and social commentary.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780732296902

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 March 2013

Country: Australia

Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 12.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 208g

Pages: 208

About the Author

Thomas Keneally is the author of more than 30 novels, as well as plays and non-fiction. The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith was shortlisted for the 1972 Booker Prize.

Also by Thomas Keneally

View all
  • A Dutiful Daughter: Text Classics
    Australian literature's strangest novel, written by its most familiar novelist. It is the duty of a good child to let his parents know the second they turn into animals. Barbara Glover's parents metamorphosed when she hit puberty, becoming bovine from the waist down. Fearful of her transformative powers, she tends diligently to them, keeping them like animals on the family's...
    Paperback
    $1799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Bring Larks and Heroes: Text Classics
    At the world's end, it is Sunday afternoon in February. Through the edge of the forest a soldier moves without any idea he's caught in a mesh of sunlight and shade. Corporal Halloran's this fellow's name. He's a lean boy taking long strides through the Sabbath heat. A South Pacific penal colony in the late eighteenth century. An honest man...
    Paperback
    $1799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • A Bloody Good Rant
    'When I was born in 1935 I grew up, despite the Depression and World War II, with a primitive sense of being fortunate . . . The utopian strain was very strong . . . if we weren't to be a better society, if we were simply serfs designed to support a system of privilege, what was the bloody point?'...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • A Bloody Good Rant
    'When I was born in 1935 I grew up, despite the Depression and World War II, with a primitive sense of being fortunate . . . The utopian strain was very strong . . . if we weren't to be a better society, if we were simply serfs designed to support a system of privilege, what was the bloody point?'...
    Paperback
    $5500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Australians: A short history
    Australians, Thomas Keneally's widely acclaimed three-volume history of the Australian people from origins to Vietnam, offers a robust, vibrant, and page-turning narrative that brings to life the vast range of characters who have formed our national story. Australians: A Short History combines these three volumes and reintroduces us to the rich assortment of contradictory, inspiring, and surprising characters who shaped...
    Paperback
    $6500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Australians Volume 2
    In this companion volume of Thomas Keneally's widely acclaimed history of the Australian people, the vast range of characters who have formed our national story are brought vividly to life. Immigrants and Aboriginal resistance figures, bushrangers and pastoralists, working men and pioneering women, artists and hard-nosed radicals, politicians and soldiers all populate this richly drawn portrait of a vibrant land...
    Paperback
    $4999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Australians (volume 3)
    'A loving history of the Australian people' - Sydney Morning Herald '...displays historical literacy, and plenty of humanity, empathy and compassion, all qualities rare in our public culture to be cherished when we find them.' - Weekend Australian As in the two previous volumes of Australians, Thomas Keneally brings history to vivid and pulsating life. He traces the lives and...
    Paperback
    $4999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Schindler's Ark
    In the shadow of Auschwitz, a flamboyant German industrialist grew into a living legend to the Jews of Cracow. He was a womaniser, a heavy drinker and a bon viveur, but to them he became a saviour. This is the extraordinary story of Oskar Schindler, who risked his life to protect Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland and who was transformed by...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Blood Red, Sister Rose
    The story of Joan of Arc has always held a special fascination for writers - among them Voltaire, Mark Twain, George Bernard Shaw and Jean Anouilh. Here Thomas Keneally transforms the legend, presenting a Joan who is at once a tough radical, an instinctive soldier, a nagging prophet and a touchingly vulnerable girl - a haunting and compelling heroine framed...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Confederates
    As the Civil War tears America apart, General Stonewall Jackson leads a troop of Confederate soldiers on a long trek towards the battle they believe will be a conclusive victory. Through their hopes, fears and losses, Keneally searingly conveys both the drama and mundane hardship of war, and brings to life one of the most emotive episodes in American history....
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Australians
    WINNER, Australian Book Industry Awards General Non-fiction Book of the Year In this widely acclaimed volume, bestselling author Thomas Keneally brings to life the vast range of characters who have formed our national story. Convicts and Aborigines, settlers and soldiers, patriots and reformers, bushrangers and gold seekers, it is from their lives and their stories that he has woven a...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people โ€” but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came fromโ€ฆHis name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance โ€“...
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (5)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    On Mystic Lake
    One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Land
    Inspired by the mapping of Ireland in the mid nineteenth century, Land, theย new novel from the author of Hamnet, is at once intimate and epic: a portrait of a family navigating a legacy of upheaval and loss with love and hope. On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, Tomรกs and his reluctant son,ย Liam, are working for the great...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set
    The Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set by Brandon Sanderson is a landmark fantasy series that has captivated readers worldwide. Renowned for its innovative magic system, intricate world-building, and compelling characters, this trilogy is a must-have for any fantasy enthusiast. Immerse yourself in a world shrouded in ash, where a once-hopeful land is ruled by the tyrannical Dark Lord, known as the...
    Set
    $6800
    Elsewhere:
    $7500
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Yesteryear
    A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE โ€” Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE โ€” Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE โ€” Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS โ€” Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale โ€” Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Signed Bookplate
    New Release
    Light Wielder
    THE EPIC CONCLUSION TO METAL SLINGER, AKA THE BOOK WITH THE PLOT TWIST THAT BROKE THE INTERNET Sail the seas. Master the blade. Protect your heart. What would you do to have it all? READERS ARE GOING WILD FOR *METAL SLINGER* โ€˜The BEST plot twist to ever grace my Kindleโ€™ โญโญโญโญโญ โ€˜The author is a mastermind. Romantasy is back!!!!โ€™ โญโญโญโญโญ...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Deal
    Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Deal now for the perfect fake-dating romance! She's about to make a deal with the college bad boy . . . Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Project Hail Mary
    THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL A BARACK OBAMA READING PICK A lone astronaut. An impossible mission. An ally he never imagined. 'The most enjoyable hard SF I have read in years' GUARDIAN 'Weir's finest work to date... This is the one book I read last year that I am certain I can recommend to anyone, no matter who, and know...
    Paperback
    $2099
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Goal
    Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Project Hail Mary
    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • There Is No Antimemetics Division
    Mind-bending science fiction about antimemes: ideas that attack memory, identity, and the fabric of reality itself. An antimeme is an entity with self-censoring properties. Some are benign, but others, less so... These entities can feed on your most cherished memories, the things that make you youโ€”and you'll never even know anything changed. And they aren't just feeding on us. They're...
    By qntm
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.