Gallows on the Sand
1963 edition | |
Author | Morris West |
---|---|
Language | English |
Publisher | Angus and Robertson |
Publication date | 1956 |
Publication place | Australia |
Media type | |
Pages | 207pp |
Preceded by | - |
Followed by | Kundu |
Gallows on the Sand is a 1956 novel by Morris West. It was the first novel he published under his own name.[1] He later claimed it was written in seven days for $250 in order to pay a tax bill after he had had a nervous breakdown. West credited the book as launching his career as a novelist.[2][3] However a later review of the author's career dismissed it as a "potboiler".[4]
It was serialised for radio.[5]
The book was re-released in 1963 as part of Angus and Robertson's Pacific Book series.[6]
Premise
Historican Renn Lundigan hunts for treasure off the Great Barrier Reef. The treasure is minted Spanish gold in a sunken galleon. Renn has to deal with islander Johnny Akimoto, gambling house owner Manny Mannix and beautiful young scientist Pat Mitchell.
Reception
The Argus said "in spite of a tendency to the rather slick "Randy Stone" radio style, it is a bright, exciting yarn, guaranteed to take your mind off workaday cares. "[5]
The Pacific Islands Monthly called it "a buried treasure trifle."[7]
The same magazine later said it was "one of the first novels written by this world wide, best-seller author and long before he found his metier in the by-ways of Roman Catholicism," adding the book "only goes to prove how far a novelist with what it takes can travel in seven years. "[8]
Radio adaptation
The novel was serialised for radio in 1956 by West himself. It aired Monday to Thursday (beginning February 14) at 6.45 p.m.[9]
External links
- Gallows on the Sand at AustLit
References
- ^ "Advertising". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 26 May 1956. p. 35. Retrieved 7 April 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "WRITERS' WORLD". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 20 August 1983. p. 12. Retrieved 7 April 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ Jones, Jerene (December 6, 1976). "Morris West Has One Literary Objective: Hold That Reader". People.
- ^ Missen, Mollie (February 20, 1993). "A master storyteller signs off". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 44.
- ^ a b "NOVELS." The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 24 March 1956. p. 14. Retrieved 7 April 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "NEW TITLES IN PACIFIC BOOK SERIES". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 3 August 1963. p. 23. Retrieved 7 April 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "Two Novels of Note identifier". Pacific Islands Monthly. August 1963. p. 97.
- ^ "Best Of The Paperbacks". Pacific Islands Monthly. December 1963. p. 94.
- ^ "New novel to be evening serial", ABC Weekly, 18 (6), Sydney, 11 February 1956, retrieved 13 December 2023 – via Trove
- v
- t
- e
- Gallows on the Sand (1956)
- Kundu (1956)
- The Big Story (1957)
- The Second Victory (1958)
- The Devil's Advocate (1959)
- Daughter of Silence (1961)
- The Shoes of the Fisherman (1963)
- The Ambassador (1965)
- The Tower of Babel (1968)
- Summer of the Red Wolf (1971)
- The Salamander (1973)
- Harlequin (1974)
- The Navigator (1976)
- Proteus (1979)
- The Clowns of God (1981)
- The World Is Made of Glass (1983)
- Cassidy (1986)
- Masterclass (1988)
- Lazarus (1990)
- The Ringmaster (1991)
- The Lovers (1993)
- Vanishing Point (1996)
- Eminence (1996)
- The Last Confession (2000)
- Moon in My Pocket (1945)
- McCreary Moves In (1958)
- The Naked Country (1960)
- Children of the Sun (1957)
- McCreary Moves In (1957) (TV)
- Children of the Sun (1961) (TV)
- The Crooked Road (1965)
- The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
- The Devil's Advocate (1977)
- The Salamander (1981)
- The Naked Country (1985)
- The Second Victory (1987)
- The Curtain Rises (1946)
- The Mask of Marius Melville (1946)
- Burtons of Banner Street (1947)
- On the Danube (1948)
- Dick Barton - Secret Agent
- Experiment with Time
- Trumpets in the Dawn (1949)
- Paradise of Cheats (1949)
- The Prince of Peace (1950)
- The Apostle of Peace (1951)
- The Affairs of Harlequin (1951)
- White Marriage (1951)
- The Enchanted Island (1952)
- The Dreaming City (1952)
- Secret Mountain (1953)
- Mystery of Henriette (1953)
- Man of Two Tribes (1953)
- Special Assignment (1953)
- Fire of Etna (1953)
- The Golden Road (1954)
- The Dambusters (1954)
- The Great Escape (1954)
- There is a Santa Claus (1954)
- Reach for the Sky (1955)
- Genesis in Juddsville (1955)
- The Illusionists (1955)
- The White Tower (1955)
- The White Rabbit (1955)
- Gallows on the Sand (1956)
- The Big Story (1958)
- The Illusionists (1955)
- The Devil's Advocate (1961)
- Daughter of Silence (1962)
- The Heretic (1970)
- The World Is Made of Glass (1984)
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