Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly is the hero of this novel, and a legendary figure in Australia. Much like Robin Hood, the law, British rulers, and his pursuers see him as nothing but a murdering butcher, a horrible criminal. To the common and oppressed people he is a hero who moved from beyond mortality into the history books as a legend. Ned is the oldest boy in a large family, though he has an older sister, and when his father dies young and his mother leads the family from one disaster to another, he is a strong boy who fills into manhood at a very young age and is always there to help his family.

Ned becomes an outlaw, tutored under the wing of Harry Power, who is perhaps the most famous outlaw of the time. Ned falls into this life with talent, and though he is naturally talented in...