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Gallows on the Sand
1956 novel by Morris West From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Gallows on the Sand is a 1956 novel by Morris West. It was the first novel he published under his own name.[1] He later claimed it was written in seven days for $250 in order to pay a tax bill after he had had a nervous breakdown. West credited the book as launching his career as a novelist.[2][3] However a later review of the author's career dismissed it as a "potboiler".[4]
It was serialised for radio.[5]
The book was re-released in 1963 as part of Angus and Robertson's Pacific Book series.[6]
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Premise
Historican Renn Lundigan hunts for treasure off the Great Barrier Reef. The treasure is minted Spanish gold in a sunken galleon. Renn has to deal with islander Johnny Akimoto, gambling house owner Manny Mannix and beautiful young scientist Pat Mitchell.
Reception
The Argus said "in spite of a tendency to the rather slick "Randy Stone" radio style, it is a bright, exciting yarn, guaranteed to take your mind off workaday cares. "[5]
The Pacific Islands Monthly called it "a buried treasure trifle."[7]
The same magazine later said it was "one of the first novels written by this world wide, best-seller author and long before he found his metier in the by-ways of Roman Catholicism," adding the book "only goes to prove how far a novelist with what it takes can travel in seven years. "[8]
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Radio adaptation
The novel was serialised for radio in 1956 by West himself. It aired Monday to Thursday (beginning February 14) at 6.45 p.m.[9]
External links
- Austlit – Gallows on the Sand[10]
References
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