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The Concubine
A Novel. Number # 23305-X. Original price $3.50. She was the most beautiful of the dangers he had to face but not the last.
197 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
About the author
Morris L. West
134 books180 followersMorris Langlo West was born in St Kilda, Melbourne in 1916. At the age of fourteen, he entered the Christian Brothers seminary ‘as a kind of refuge’ from a difficult childhood. He attended the University of Melbourne and worked as a teacher. In 1941 he left the Christian Brothers without taking final vows. In World War II he worked as a code-breaker, and for a time he was private secretary to former prime minister Billy Hughes.
After the war, West became a successful writer and producer of radio serials. In 1955 he left Australia to build an international career as a writer. With his family, he lived in Austria, Italy, England and the USA, including a stint as the Vatican correspondent for the British newspaper, the Daily Mail. He returned to Australia in 1982.
Morris West wrote 30 books and many plays, and several of his novels were adapted for film. His books were published in 28 languages and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. Each new book he wrote after he became an established writer sold more than one million copies.
West received many awards and accolades over his long writing career, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the W.H. Heinemann Award of the Royal Society of Literature for The Devil's Advocate. In 1978 he was elected a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1985, and was made an Officer of the Order (AO) in 1997.
Morris West died at his desk in 1999.
After the war, West became a successful writer and producer of radio serials. In 1955 he left Australia to build an international career as a writer. With his family, he lived in Austria, Italy, England and the USA, including a stint as the Vatican correspondent for the British newspaper, the Daily Mail. He returned to Australia in 1982.
Morris West wrote 30 books and many plays, and several of his novels were adapted for film. His books were published in 28 languages and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. Each new book he wrote after he became an established writer sold more than one million copies.
West received many awards and accolades over his long writing career, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the W.H. Heinemann Award of the Royal Society of Literature for The Devil's Advocate. In 1978 he was elected a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1985, and was made an Officer of the Order (AO) in 1997.
Morris West died at his desk in 1999.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 31, 2020
Mick McCreary is an oilman out of a job. His only possessions are a plane ticket to Singapore, a month's pay in Indonesian rupiahs, and the luck of the Irish.
When the mysterious Mr. Rubensohn approaches him with the offer of a breathtaking salary for a drilling operation on a remote island- no questions asked- he thinks that luck is running with him again.
But then he meets the beautiful Lisette, and within twenty-four hours, he is involved in murder, intrigue, and an international fraud of frightening proportions.
When the mysterious Mr. Rubensohn approaches him with the offer of a breathtaking salary for a drilling operation on a remote island- no questions asked- he thinks that luck is running with him again.
But then he meets the beautiful Lisette, and within twenty-four hours, he is involved in murder, intrigue, and an international fraud of frightening proportions.
February 21, 2024
Competently crafted fiction.
Irishman McCreary is invited to join an oil drilling expedition on a little volcanic island in the Pacific. It doesn't take long before he figures out that half the people on the ship are back-stabbing crooks trying to outwit each other. When McCreary falls for his nasty boss's girl, he has to figure out how to save both of their skins. It's not nearly as lurid as the cover and title might lead one to believe.
The intrigue is well done and the twists and turns of the money-grubbers' machinations was fun to follow. I had a hard time believing the romance between McCreary and "the concubine". It was sudden, with little flirting or romance. The ending, too, was sudden, without any denouement. (It was kind of grim, actually.)
Oddly enough, the book was turned into a miniseries for Australian television, but every episode is lost, so I'll never get to see how the story was adapted for the screen. I'd hope with 7 episodes, they spent more time on developing the romantic relationship.
Irishman McCreary is invited to join an oil drilling expedition on a little volcanic island in the Pacific. It doesn't take long before he figures out that half the people on the ship are back-stabbing crooks trying to outwit each other. When McCreary falls for his nasty boss's girl, he has to figure out how to save both of their skins. It's not nearly as lurid as the cover and title might lead one to believe.
The intrigue is well done and the twists and turns of the money-grubbers' machinations was fun to follow. I had a hard time believing the romance between McCreary and "the concubine". It was sudden, with little flirting or romance. The ending, too, was sudden, without any denouement. (It was kind of grim, actually.)
Oddly enough, the book was turned into a miniseries for Australian television, but every episode is lost, so I'll never get to see how the story was adapted for the screen. I'd hope with 7 episodes, they spent more time on developing the romantic relationship.
February 12, 2022
Unfortunately, I cannot give this one a higher rating - it just did not do it for me.
I fully understand Morris WEST began his writing many years ago, slotting into a genre typical of its time, but, his writing lacks depth and pazazz.
One could hardly define this as a thriller or a mystery, it is simply a story which sometimes, is a bit far fetched.
Not really recommended.
I fully understand Morris WEST began his writing many years ago, slotting into a genre typical of its time, but, his writing lacks depth and pazazz.
One could hardly define this as a thriller or a mystery, it is simply a story which sometimes, is a bit far fetched.
Not really recommended.
March 10, 2020
-Observen- dijo McCreary-.¡Observen! Cuenten tres o quizá cinco y le verán surgir. Aquello por lo cual asesinaron a un hombre y vendieron a una mujer... Aquello por lo cual van a morir, Rubhensohn... ¡Petróleo!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2024
La trama cliché, y el típico salvador blanco (no sé mucho del conflicto durante la guerra fría en el Sudeste asiático). Me gustó el final, y cómo estaba escrito la historia. Sino fuera así de funeke me hubiera gustado, da para una relectura porque el 🙈 que se envió el autor da para una charla.
September 7, 2025
Another really enjoyable Morris West saga. Full of great characters and plot. Loved it.
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March 12, 2017A great book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews