Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Fiction Literary

The Last Tasmanian

by (author) Herb Curtis

Publisher
Goose Lane Editions
Initial publish date
Aug 2001
Category
Literary, Humorous
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780864923172
    Publish Date
    Aug 2001
    List Price
    $18.99

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

Winner, Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award
Shortlisted, Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Canada and the Caribbean

The Last Tasmanian has reaped more national and international recognition than any other novel by Herb Curtis. First published in 1991, it has remained in print continuously in its original edition and later in The Brennen Siding Trilogy. Now it's available again as a separate volume in the GLE Library Series.

Brennen Siding, a hamlet on a small tributary of the famous Miramichi River, is home to an unforgettable crew — Shadrack Nash and his friend Dryfly Ramsey; Dry's mother, the homely, destitute Shirley, and Nutbeam, the big-eared hermit she marries; the American sports who come to the Cabbage Island Salmon Club to fish; and, above all, Hilda Porter, the elderly schoolteacher who treasures the story of Trucanini, the last Tasmanian on earth. Hilda herself is the last of the Porters, and, amid the invasion of TV, Elvis, and rich Americans, Shad and Dry may be the last true natives of Brennen Siding.

About the author

Herb Curtis (b. 1949) has lived all his life in New Brunswick; he moves between Fredericton and the Miramichi, where he guides visiting salmon fishermen. His masterpiece, The Brennan Siding Trilogy (Goose Lane, 1997), is a compilation of his first three novels, The Americans Are Coming (1989, 1999), The Last Tasmanian (1991, 2001) and The Lone Angler (1993). A different version of "The Party" appears in The Last Tasmanian.

Herb Curtis' profile page

Awards

  • Short-listed, Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Canada and the Caribbean
  • Winner, Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award

Editorial Reviews

"Curtis's writing is confident, filled with startling images and witty, incisive stabs at Canadian issues."

<i>Toronto Star</i>

"Quite simply, this is a wonderful book. It has everything that anyone in search of a splendid read could possibly want."

<i>Books in Canada</i>