English Passengers

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English Passengers is a 2000 historical novel by Matthew Kneale. It tells the story of a voyage to Tasmania from two very different angles, using many narrators to show how history and travel affect people on all sides.

Plot summary:
In 1857, Captain Illiam Quillian Kewley and his crew of Manx sailors are forced to offer their ship for hire after trouble with smugglers. A group of English travelers, led by an energetic Reverend Geoffrey Wilson, hires the ship to search for the Garden of Eden in Tasmania. The Reverend believes the island holds the lost paradise, while one traveler, Dr. Thomas Potter, wants to study the races of humanity and collect human “specimens.” At the same time, Peevay, a Tasmanian Aboriginal man, recalls the devastating impact of white settlers on his people and the changes forced upon them. The novel switches between these events and historical memories, and when the ship reaches Tasmania, the different stories and viewpoints come together in the book’s ending.

Reception and awards:
The book was praised as moving and richly researched. It won the Whitbread Book Award in 2000 and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Miles Franklin Award. Critics noted its ambitious structure, with twenty different voices, and its ability to tell a sweeping story without confusing readers.

Publication details:
Author: Matthew Kneale
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
Publication date: March 14, 2000
ISBN: 0-385-49744-X

English Passengers explores exploration, history, and the impact of colonization on Aboriginal Tasmanians, all through a told-and-multi-voiced narrative that brings together two interconnected journeys.