The Gospel Of Gods and Crocodiles
By (Author) Elizabeth Stead
University of Queensland Press
University of Queensland Press
7th May 2007
Australia
General
Fiction
A823
Paperback
312
Width 154mm, Height 229mm, Spine 24mm
392g
Missionary Amen Morley arrives on a tropical island to find a community largely untouched by the modern world. A magnet for eccentric characters, the island paradise soon becomes a hotspot of conflicting cultures.The preachers are competing to save souls, while others have come to make a new beginning. There's Herbert Glass, the English doctor who cures clocks, Missy Wing, the Chinese trader, and Sam Maitland, who the locals dub the 'crocodile man'.The islanders are bemused by the behaviour of these strange intruders. But instead of being the ones doing the converting, the foreigners end up most transformed by this extraordinary place.The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles is overflowing with subversive wit, brilliant observations and larger-than-life characters. This bold novel is suffused with Elizabeth Stead's unique literary style and humour.
Elizabeth Stead is Sydney-born and is the niece of acclaimed Australian novelist Christina Stead. From childhood, Elizabeth was greatly inspired by her grandfather, David George Stead, pioneer naturalist, conservationist and storyteller. Elizabeth has published short fiction, and her two previous novels, The Fishcastle and The Different World of Fin Starling, have been published by Penguin.