Beyond the Book: Background information when reading Theft

Beyond the Book

This article relates to Theft

Peter Carey was born in Australia in 1943 (in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, about 30 miles from Melbourne). He attended Geelong Grammar School (one of Australia's top private schools which at one time or another has been responsible for educating many of the most powerful names in Australian business and government). He left university after a year having failed his science exams and found work as a copyrighter in London (UK) and Melbourne - and eventually started his own agency. He published his first volume of short stories, War Crimes, in 1979, followed by another volume of short stories, The Fat Man in History, in 1980.

He then wrote three novels, Bliss (1981) - about an advertising executive who has an out-of-body experience; Illywhacker (1985) - Australian history told through the memoirs of a 100-year old confidence man or "illywhacker"; and Oscar and Lucinda (1988).

In about 1991 he moved to New York with his wife and son, to teach creative writing at the University of New York (where he still teaches). The Tax Inspector was published in 1991, then came The Unusual Life of Tristran Smith (1994); Jack Maggs (1997), True History of the Kelly Gang (2001), My Life as a Fake (2003) and Theft (2006). His books have won a great many awards including two Booker Prizes. More at BookBrowse.

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This "beyond the book article" relates to Theft. It originally ran in May 2006 and has been updated for the May 2007 paperback edition. Go to magazine.