The Roving Party [Paperback]

[An] exceedingly powerful debut. Wilson's compelling story carries us through forest and over plains, leaving a trail of dead men.
—Alan Cheuse, The Chicago Tribune

1829, Tasmania. A group of men—convicts, a farmer, two free black traders, and Black Bill, an aboriginal man brought up from childhood as a white man—are led by Jon Batman, a notorious historical figure, on a “roving party.” Their purpose is massacre. With promises of freedom, land grants and money, each is willing to risk his life for the prize. Passing over many miles of tortured country, the roving party searches for Aborigines, taking few prisoners and killing freely, Batman never abandoning the visceral intensity of his hunt. And all the while, Black Bill pursues his personal quarry, the much-feared warrior, Manalargena. A surprisingly beautiful evocation of horror and brutality, The Roving Party is a meditation on the intricacies of human nature at its most raw.Praise for The Roving Party

Winner of the Australian/Vogel Literary Award
Winner of the Tasmanian Literary Awards' Margaret Scott Prize
Winner of the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing
Winner of the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist Award


One of the best first novels I've read all year . . . The urgency of the chase, carefully chiseled language, exotic characters and dangerous conflict with each other—it's all here.
—Alan Cheuse, NPR's All Things Considered

[An] exceedingly powerful debut. Wilson's compelling story carries us through forest and over plains, leaving a trail of dead men.