AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'In 1870 the celebrated midget General Tom Thumb and his troupe are touring Australia. While in Melbourne, Tom Thumb is rescued from the Yarra River by an impoverished governess, Mary Ann. She is hired by the troupe, but soon realises that relationships between the little people and their entourage are far from harmonious.
'When it becomes clear to everyone that Mary Ann is pregnant, Tom Thumb and his wife hatch a plan that appears to provide her child with a secure future. Others among the touring performers are less happy with these developments, however, and Mary Ann starts to wonder just whom she can trust. As the pregnancy proceeds, Mary Ann's life and that of her child seem increasingly in danger.
'This gripping historical novel is full of strange showbiz folk and has all the colour and flair of the circus, complete with sideshows starring the little people themselves.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
-
Dedication: For David
-
Epigraph: A woman of considerable physical courage mounted a horse, rode side by side with her soldier-husband, and witnessed the drilling of the troops for battle. The exciting music and scene together inspired her with a deep thirst to behold a war and a conquest. This event transpired a few months before the birth of her child - his name, Napoleon.
During the period immediately preceding the birth of Dante, his young mother saw a startling vision. She beheld a populated globe rise gradually out of the sea and float mid-heavens. Upon a high and grand mountain stood a man with brilliant countenance, whom she knew to be her son.
A woman gave birth to a child covered with hair, and having the claws of a bear. This was attributed to her beholding the images and pictures of bears hung up in the palace of the Ursini family, to which she belonged.
-Dr Foote's Home Cyclopedia of Popular Medical, Social and Sexual Science, 1858 -
Warning: Please be aware that this work may contain words, terms or descriptions which may be culturally sensitive and are considered inappropriate today, but which reflect the period in which it was written.
Affiliation Notes
-
Writing Disability in Australia:
Type of disability Dwarfism. Type of character Primary. Point of view First person.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Braille.
Works about this Work
-
Untitled
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Reviews in Australian Studies , vol. 7 no. 1 2013;
— Review of Little People 2011 single work novel -
Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Inscribe , Winter no. 4 2011; (p. 21)
— Review of Little People 2011 single work novel -
Gothic Take on the Bizarre World of the 'Little People' Who Charmed Australia
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2 -3 July 2011; (p. 32-33)
— Review of Little People 2011 single work novel -
Well Read
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 30 April 2011; (p. 27)
— Review of Little People 2011 single work novel ; The Secret Fate of Mary Watson 2011 single work novel -
[Letter to the Editor]
2011
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30 April - 1 May 2011; (p. 3) Response to Nigel Krauth's review The Weekend Australian 16 -17 April, 2011, Section: Review (p.21),
-
Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , March vol. 90 no. 6 2011; (p. 34)
— Review of Little People 2011 single work novel -
She Was Poor but Honest: A Tall Tale of a Short Story
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 26 March 2011; (p. 27)
— Review of Little People 2011 single work novel -
Tom Thumb in Oz
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 330 2011; (p. 22)
— Review of Little People 2011 single work novel -
Not So Tall Story of When Little People Hit the Big Time
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 16 -17 April 2011; (p. 21)
— Review of Little People 2011 single work novel -
Well Read
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 30 April 2011; (p. 27)
— Review of Little People 2011 single work novel ; The Secret Fate of Mary Watson 2011 single work novel -
Big-Hearted Troupe Yields Literary Gold
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 9 April 2011; (p. 18-19) The Sydney Morning Herald , 16-17 April 2011; (p. 35) -
Peter Carey Is on the Case Too
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 16-17 April 2011; (p. 35) Jane Sullivan relates how she approached Peter Carey for a possible endorsement of her novel Little People. Carey declined on the grounds that he had 'his own "tiny file" of ideas for novels, one involving Tom Thumb'. -
[Letter to the Editor]
2011
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30 April - 1 May 2011; (p. 3) Response to Nigel Krauth's review The Weekend Australian 16 -17 April, 2011, Section: Review (p.21),
Awards
- 2010 shortlisted CAL Scribe Fiction Prize
- Victoria,
- 1870