Glenrowan

Description

The siege of Glenrowan is more than just an Australian legend. The 41 hours when the Kelly Gang took over Ann Jones' Glenrowan Inn and held the police at bay have become a part of the Australian psyche.

Most people know the bare bones of the story, but few know the names and actions of some of those who literally made history over those two days. In this impeccably researched work and vivid retelling, Ian Shaw brings the characters to life through their own words and the observations of those who were there. The real heroes – and the real villains – take centre stage, just as they did at Glenrowan in June 1880.

There's the soulful Joe Byrne who toasts the success of the gang one moment and bleeds to death on the hotel floor the next. And the two younger outlaws, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart who were well and truly out of their depth, seeing no way out at the end, preferring to die rather than surrender. Above it all sits the enigmatic figure of Ned Kelly – vainglorious, cunning and brave – a figure who made too many mistakes in too short a time for his gang to survive.

Author description

Ian Shaw works as a security consultant, regularly addressing seminars and conferences on the subject of terrorism, its history and its future. He has degrees from the University of Melbourne, Monash University and the University of Michigan, and has commenced a PhD at the University of New South Wales. His first book, The Bloodbath: The 1945 VFL Grand Final, was published by Scribe in 2006. Ian is passionate about social history, and stories that resonate well beyond the time and place in which they occurred, and which speak of broader characteristics we associate with being Australian.