Keneally, Thomas Michael (1935– ), writer and republican, studied for the Catholic priesthood but never took orders. Instead he turned to teaching and fiction-writing. His first novel, The Place at Whitton, was published in 1964. Much of Keneally's fiction has a historical basis. Blood Red Sister Rose (1974) recounts the life of Jeanne d'Arc, and Schindler's Ark (1982), which won the Booker Prize and was later made into an acclaimed feature film by Steven Spielberg, tells the story of war hero Oskar Schindler.
Novels with Australian settings include Bring Larks and Heroes (1967); The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1972), based on the story of Jimmy Governor; The Cut-Rate Kingdom (1980), based on national politics during World War II; The Playmaker (1987), an account of Ralph Clark's efforts to direct the first theatrical performance in NSW; A River Town (1995), which recreates Keneally's childhood town of Kempsey, NSW, in the early 1900s; and The Cedar Shame (1998).
Religion and notions of good and evil, and punishment and redemption, are frequent themes in his fiction. Keneally has also written a travel memoir of Ireland, Now and in Time To Be (1991), and Our Republic (1993). He is a founder and prominent member of the Australian Republican Movement. Helen Doyle
How to cite this entry: Helen Doyle "Keneally, Thomas Michael" The Oxford Companion to Australian History. Ed. Graeme Davison, John Hirst and Stuart Macintyre. Oxford University Press, 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. 23 January 2012
