AUSSIE AUTHOR IN FOCUS – John Marsden
John Marsden, born in Victoria, Australia in 1950 is best known for his Young Adult fiction series Tomorrow and its follow-up, The Ellie Chronicles.
published. 
Over the next five years he then produced a raft of successful titles including Out of Time
and Letters from the Inside
.
Praise for Out Of Time
: “In this…intriguing novella by Australian fantasist Marsden by way of H.G. Wells, the time machine isn’t just a thrilling gizmo but a vehicle for exploring the human condition….Sophisticated YAs will enjoy chasing its elusive ripples of meaning.”– Booklist
In 1993 the widely acclaimed Tomorrow, When the War Began (The Tomorrow Series #1)
was published.
When Ellie and her friends go camping, they have no idea they’re leaving their old lives behind forever. Despite a less-than-tragic food shortage and a secret crush or two, everything goes as planned. But a week later, they return home to find their houses empty and their pets starving. Something has gone wrong–horribly wrong. Before long, they realize the country has been invaded, and the entire town has been captured–including their families and all their friends. Ellie and the other survivors face an impossible decision: They can flee for the mountains or surrender. Or they can fight. [Amazon.com]
A sequel series to Tomorrow, The Ellie Chronicles, While I Live (The Ellie Chronicles)
‘Tomorrow, When The War Began’ and its subsequent sequels are one of the most popular and critically-acclaimed series of novels aimed at young readers in Australian literature history. It has sold between 2 and 3 million copies in Australia alone and has been translated into five languages, one of them being Swedish, where the series has sold over 115,000 copies. [Wikipedia.org]The Tomorrow Series is also being made into a movie by Stuart Beattie (screenwriter of Australia and Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy).
See article “Tomorrow” Brings Directing Debut for Screenwriter .
John Marsden’s most recent work of fiction is a contemporary retelling of Hamlet (2008).Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, but Hamlet can’t be sure what’s causing the stench. His rage at his mother’s infidelities — together with his greed for the sensual Ophelia and his dead father’s call to revenge a “murder most foul” — have his mind in chaos, and he wants to scatter his traitorous uncle’s insides across the fields. But was it really his father’s ghost that night on the ramparts, or a hell-fiend sent to trick him? “Action is hot,” he tells Ophelia, who lives shut up in a tower with her longings and lust. “Action is courage, and reflection is cowardly. Picking up the knife has the colors of truth. As soon as I hesitate. . . .” In this dark, erotically charged, beautifully crafted novel, John Marsden brings one of Shakespeare’s most riveting characters to full-blooded life in a narrative of intense psychological complexity. [Amazon.com]
Here is my review of Hamlet.
A selection of reviews of John Marsden’s titles by other book bloggers:
Tomorrow, When The War Began – Persnickety Snark
The Dead of the Night – Beth Fish Reads
A Killing Frost – Books and Movies
Hamlet – Terra on the Bookshelf
Bibliographic content in this post was sourced from http://www.johnmarsden.com.au/
Great post!!!
I'm totally ashamed to say that I have never read a John Marsden book. I know I know, I should be stoned and thrown out of the country!
Aye.Me? – If you're thrown out of the country, I will be too – but I've heard such great things about these books that I thought it was a good place to start the Aussie Author In Focus series
haha! Good to know I'm not the only Aussie who hasn't read one of his books!
i've read tomorrow when the war began series, which was great but could probably have stopped around book 5. The hamlet book sounds intriguing, another one for the TBR list!
I love John Marsden and am particularly fond of the Tomorrow Series. Checkers is my favourite out of his stand-alone stories.
Excellent post. Thank you for mentioning my review of Hamlet, too.
Great post. Thanks so much for linking to me. I have reviewed books 2-5 on my blog and will be reading the rest of the Tomorrow series this year plus the Ellie Chronicles. I also reviewed Marsden's The Rabbits.
My only problem with him as an author is stopping myself from reading everything all at once. I'm working hard at drawing out the series and his work so I'll always have more to read.
Nice post! I'm a big fan of the Tomorrow books as well as the Ellie Chronicles! I've read some stand-alone books too, but far from all!
I've been wanting to read the Tomorrow series, but, of course, my library doesn't carry them. Thank goodness for ILL!
The only Marsden I have read is The Rabbits which he co authored with the amazing Shaun Tan. I get the feeling that I need to read the Tomorrow series at least.
John Marsden is my younger brother's favorite author, He's read all Marden's books. He's always been a little frustrated to have people say "who?" completley blank when telling them who his favorite writer is, but he's not nearly as well known in the US. So glad you mentioned him right off the bat.