The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor. The novel tells the story of Jimmie Blacksmith who is the son of an Aboriginal mother and a white father. A missionary shows him what it means to be white - already he is only too aware of what it means to be black. When Jimmie Blacksmith marries a white woman the backlash from both Jimmie's tribe and white society initiates a series of dramatic events. As Jimmie tries to survive between two cultures, tensions build reaching a head when the Newbys, Jimmie's white employers, try to break up his marriage. Exploited by his white employers and betrayed by his white wife, Jimmie cannot take any more. He must find a way to express his rage. Thomas Keneally's fictionalised account of the 19th century Aboriginal, Jimmie Governor, is a powerful story of a black man's revenge against an unjust and intolerant society.
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