Oscar and Lucinda

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Oscar and Lucinda is a novel by Peter Carey, which won the 1988 Booker Prize, and the 1989 Miles Franklin Award.

Title Oscar and Lucinda
Oscar and Lucinda Book Cover
Author Peter Carey
Country Australia
Language English
Genre(s) Novel
Publisher Faber and Faber
Released 1988
Media type Print (Hardback, Paperback)
Pages 528 pp
ISBN ISBN 0-571-15304-6

It tells the story of Oscar Hopkins, an English Anglican priest, and Lucinda Leplastrier, a young Australian heiress who buys a glass factory. They meet on the boat over to Australia, and discover that they both like to gamble. Lucinda bets Oscar that he cannot transport a glass church into the outback in one piece. This bet changes both their lives forever.

The novel partly takes its inspiration from Father and Son, the autobiography of the English poet Edmund Gosse, which describes his relationship with his father, Philip Henry Gosse.

A film was made from the book in 1997, directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Ralph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett and Tom Wilkinson.

Preceded by
Moon Tiger
Man Booker Prize recipient
1988
Succeeded by
The Remains of the Day
In other languages