Ned Kelly's Helmet
Paul Stafford
First published 1998 by Crawford House Publishing

Reviewed by Sharon Hollingsworth
Though seemingly geared towards prepubescent boys, Ned Kelly's Helmet will delight readers of any gender or age. Author Paul Stafford has combined lively dialogue and quick humour to make this imaginative little book into a real what's-gonna-happen-next page turner! It begins in modern times as a school needs to raise funds for a basketball court and they stage a Roman style slave auction after a suggestion by the history teacher. Young Robbie McGoogly is “sold” to a local elderly eccentric, Mrs. Fezzle. after a day of weeding, Robbie is invited in for tea and sees all the museum quality souvenirs gathered by Mrs. Fezzle and her late plumber husband in their “travels”.

One of the things catching his eye is a crystal ball found by Mr. Fezzle while renovating an old house. With the accompanying parchment scroll, the couple had unlocked the key to the past via time tunneling! Young Robbie hears the story and remembers it when the next month's history theme is bushrangers. The teacher has them form gangs to “rob” prearranged businesses of “donations”. But the biggest prize is the Bash Brothers Billycart for the best show and tell. So Robbie, his brother Andrew and a girl, Frances Hare, go back in time (with Mrs. Fezzle's help) to June 27, 1880 to bring back Ned Kelly's helmet to show off to win the competition. But, unfortunately, in the process, a mean ol' bushranger, Lovely Riley, is brought forward in time to wreak havoc on the town!

The kids witness history and wind up altering it, and after the 19th century bushranger busts up the crystal ball we wonder do the kids make it back to the 20th Century? Or are they and he stuck in the wrong time? You will have to read to find out! A great twist at the end and I give it 4 out of 5 Neds, despite spotting a few historical errors. All in all, worth your time!

The Black Pot Belly
Maree Coote
First published 2003 by Gingerbread Books
ISBN 0-9757047-1-0

The Black Pot Belly is a charming and witty piece of nonsense about a magical pot belly stove whose antics illuminate the charm of low-tech living, and whose dreams include joining the Kelly Gang... Unusual and fresh, with some very impressive illustrations by the author, this very different tale is a delight.

Further reading: The Black Pot Belly

Ned Kelly: A Short Life
Arthur Upfield
First published by Pan

Review by Don Schofield
Firstly the Kelly Gang of the title is not the infamous bushranging gang of the late 1870s, but rather a gang of smugglers operating South of Sydney in the late 1950's. Bony is the half aboriginal policeman, Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, the central character of a very successful series of mystery books written by Arthur Upfield from about 1929 to 1964 which in turn spawned a television series in the 1970s.

This book is set in the village of Cork Valley (loosely based on the actual village of Kangaroo Valley in NSW) with Bony disguised as a horse thief in order to investigate the murder of an Excise Officer. Cork Valley is inhabited by the descendents of two Irish families, the Kelly's and the Conway's. Through self-imposed isolation the families have remained very Irish and very wary of any government or police intervention in their affairs, for Bony to succeed in his investigation he must somehow gain their trust.

Though there appears to be no direct link between the Kelly's of Cork Valley and Ned Kelly's family they still hold a deep admiration for him with the village having had an annual Ned Kelly festival since 1881. It is interesting to note that, even though there is no mention of the Republic of North Eastern Victoria, the Kelly outbreak is clearly regarded by the people of Cork Valley as an act of rebellion rather than as a criminal act. All up if you were looking for serious information on Ned Kelly then this book would probably disappoint, but as a piece of Australian detective fiction with a bit of a Kelly connection it is definitely worth a read.

Kelly
Eric Lambert
First published 1964 by Corgi Books

Lambert took the bare facts on Kelly, mixed them with romantic notations and tall tales to produce the first novel on the Kelly Gang. As he says himself in the foreword “... and though there is a broad element of fiction in my story I think I am nearer the truth than the 'facts'. This, then, is the life story of Ned Kelly, than whom no man was gamer”. If you stumble across this edition in a second hand book store don't pass it up, as it is definitely worth a read!

Ned Kelly & the City of Bees
Thomas Keneally
First published 1978 by J. Cape

Review by David R. Godine
This is a delightful story, though officially designated as a children's story, I think not only children but any adult whose mind and spirit are still alive will enjoy reading this. Set in Australia it is the story of a young boy, Ned Kelly, who is visited by a bee while he is lying in hospital with appendicitis. The bee, Apis, gives Ned a drop of a golden liquid that shrinks him so that he can ride off on her back with Nancy Clancy a 120 year girl who has been living with the hive since she was 10 years old. Ned spends the summer in the hive with Nancy, learning about the hive and having fun meeting Selma the Queen, Romeo the lovesick drone and Basil the activist drone as well as surviving an attack by the dreaded wasps.

This book is amazingly accurate in its science and is I think an excellent way for children to learn something about these wonderful animals. It does in fact contain one error which is not terrible important but I mention it here for accuracies sake. When Basil is describing the future of life for a drone he say that the Queen only mates with one drone on her nuptial flight, in fact the young queen will mate with about a dozen drones under normal circumstances. This book, by the author of Schindler's List, is both entertaining, educational and well written and I would recommend it to anyone as a good fun read, I thoroughly enjoyed it myself.

Kelly Country
A. Bertram Chandler
First published 1983 by Penguin Books

What if Ned Kelly escaped police capture in 1880 and led a successful Irish-Australian rebellion against British authority. The books synopsis centres around a mental time traveller who organises Kelly's escape. When he wakes up the world has changed with Australia rather than the United States embroiled in the Vietnam War. All because Curnow never stopped the train (he ended up getting his brains bashed in instead)! I always get excited about alternate history novels, the “what if?” books. However, in this instance, the story wasn’t nearly as impressive as the front cover. Don’t believe me? Then do a search at Abe Books to find your own copy. While the concept for a fiction book is 5 out of 5 the end result was a lot different.

Ned Kelly
Gangster Hero of the Australian Outback
Charlie Boxer
First published 2001 by Short Books Ltd, London

Reviewed by Brian McDonald
A very racy and dramatically written children’s book. The English author no doubt read Max Brown’s Australian Son several years ago but failed to consult it when writing this work. He has Lonigan chatting with the gang at Stringybark and being shot when he tries to warn Kennedy and Scanlon. He has the newspaper editor Gill hiding in a wombat hole instead of McIntyre. He even has the armour being made by “a network of friendly blacksmiths” prior to the Euroa and Jerilderie robberies … fortunately he doesn’t imply they wore the armour at these “stick-ups”.

There are some funny aspects due to Boxer’s lack of knowledge of Australia and its history. He has ‘Red’ and Ellen eloping and travelling “several hundred miles to Melbourne”. ‘Red’ arriving in one of the last convict ships … (the last convict ship to arrive in Australia was in 1868). He unfortunately perpetuates the myth of Brady posting a reward notice for Governor Arthur. He even refers to squatters as ‘ranch owners’! In all it’s an interesting little read, however the wonderfully written books by Carole Wilkinson and Brian Ridden should take precedence as Christmas gifts.

Our Sunshine
Robert Drewe
First published 1991 by Pan Macmillan

Let me start by saying this is a quick read (well under two hours). This short novel is filled with visions best described as literary garbage. Don’t believe me? Then how about this passage from page 72, “Blood was the only food we could keep down. We drank six horses dry before we saw the croquet lawn three days later and guessed we’d live.” Peter Carey writes, “An important writer meets an important myth and reinvents it in the most sensual, visceral language he has yet produced... to forever change the way we see Ned Kelly.” Carey must have been referring to another book on Ned because this one is such a flight of fancy it makes dear Pete's novel appear historically correct. Thanks for keeping Ned in the spotlight Robbie but I prefer my Ned non-fictionalised when it comes to his life story. Unfortunately, too many people tend to believe the flowery fictional accounts by Carey and Drewe, clouding the ‘really true history’. And what is it with the circus lion? Some poor attempt at drawing an analogy?

Ned Kelly
The Screenplay
John Michael McDonagh
First published 2003 by Currency Press

Seems one of the good things about this book is that it is thin — about 120 pages (or 60 sheets). While the cover design is as uninspiring as the script it does have a nice shot of Heath Ledger. Well, that’s about it when it comes to praise — the book is after all an adaptation of Drewe's novel Our Sunshine (see review above). The script highlights the fact that no historian was consulted in the making of the movie. You need to look no further than Peter Gavin who fills 11 pages (around 10% of the entire book) with his essay The Man in the Iron Mask, Ned Kelly. Gavin admits “to being a complete novice in Kellyana”. Good call. And what is it with that circus lion?

Ned and Kelly
Behind the Kelly Gang
A story of Young Love, Mystery & Terror
Graham Jones
First published 1997 by Charquin Hill Publishing

As the cover states “A story of young love, mystery and terror”. And terror is absolutely correct. The whole book was terrible! I only gave it half a Ned in case someone thought I had forgotten to rate it at all. This book is so bad it makes the movie Reckless Kelly seem like an Oscar winner. The plot makes no sense, the characters are one dimensional, and the storyline is non existent. The whole plot is rubbish, I wouldn't even rely on it to prop up the leg of a wonky table. A shocker!

"Burnt to a Cinder, was I?"
The Escape and Life of Outlaw Dan Kelly, member of the notorious Ned Kelly Gang
Vince and carolyn Allen
First published 2002 by Artisans

What a stinker of a book. From it's crap cover — and it was suppose to be designed by an artist, to it's crap plot! Vince claims his family met Dan in the 1930s, and he has a photo to prove it. Well then, he must be telling the truth! Surely he wouldn't just be trying to cash in on the current Kelly craze would he? With no grounding in fact — the author claims Dan Kelly shot Alexander Fitzpatrick dead — this Kellyana book is the worst I’ve seen. But just don’t take my word for it, have a read of Nicky Cowie’s report at bailup.com.