manuscripts, it is assumed that this narrator is a relative of Curnow's. Kelly dies a hero to the people of northeastern Victoria, with the legend of his life left to grow over time. Technique The novel is divided into thirteen sections (each ostensibly written by Kelly), with a short description at the beginning of each section describing the physical condition of the original manuscripts. The novel also includes a preface and a frame narrative at the end which describe the events of Kelly's final shootout at Glenrowan and his eventual death sentence. Carey departs from what is known about Kelly's life by providing him with a lover and a daughter, for whom he has been recording his life history whilst on the run from the police. The novel is written in a distinctive vernacular style, with little in the way of punctuation or grammar; the influence of Kelly's Irish heritage is also apparent in his language. The style is similar to Kelly's most famous surviving piece of writing, The Jerilderie Letter. Excepting the frame narratives of "S.C", the novel does not contain any commas. Although there is much profanity in the novel, it has been censored (replacing vulgarities with terms such as "effing" or "adjectival") for the benefit of Kelly's fictional daughter, presumably by Kelly himself. Reception English writer Robert McCrum named True History of the Kelly Gang one of the 100 greatest novels written in English. In 2019, the novel was ranked 53rd on The Guardian'''s list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. In an effort to attract American readers to the story, the book's American publisher, Alfred Knopf, heralded the book as a "Great American Novel", even though the novel takes place entirely within Australia. The claim that this book is an "American novel" appears to be based on the fact that author Peter Carey, an Australian, has lived in New York City for many years. Awards and nominations Centre for Australian Cultural Studies Award, 2000: winner Colin Roderick Award, Best Australian Book, 2000: winner Booksellers Choice Award, 2000: shortlisted Booker Prize (UK), 2001: winner The Courier-Mail Book of the Year Award, 2001: joint winner Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, Best Fiction Book, 2001: winner Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction, 2001: winner In 2001 in a press release the administrators of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, the State Library of Victoria,