Illywhacker (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Peter Carey
- First Published: 1985
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Picaresque
- Time of Work: The late 1800’s to the late 1900’s
- Setting: Victoria and New South Wales, Australia
- Genres: Long fiction, Picaresque fiction
- Subjects: Memory, Snakes, Politics, Suicide, Twentieth century, Nineteenth century, Storytelling, Adventure, Comedy, Begging or beggars, Australia or Australians
- Locales: Australia, New South Wales, Australia, Victoria, Australia
Characters Discussed
Herbert Badgery, a retired former freelance flier, crack car salesman, entertainer, and confidence man; he is also a convict and a lifetime liar. He claims to have possessed the ability, in his late youth and early manhood, to make himself disappear. In his old age, he is something of a celebrity, claiming to be 139 years old at the time that he tells this tall tale of his life and that of his family, friends, and enemies. He is very bright, having learned to read in his middle age and obtained a college degree by correspondence while in prison; he is...
[The entire page is 785 words long]
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