Peter Carey (novelist)
A two-time Booker Prize winner who masterfully re-imagines Australian history and identity through lush, inventive, and often mischievous prose.
Born 1943 (age 83)·Australian novelist·Birthday: May 7·The Silent Generation
Biography
Peter Carey builds vast, intricate fictional worlds that dissect the myths of his homeland and the human condition with equal parts rigor and imagination. Born in rural Victoria, Australia, he worked in advertising before his literary talents erupted with the surreal collection 'The Fat Man in History.' His novels, while globally engaged, often return to Australia's colonial past, not to document but to explosively re-configure. 'Oscar and Lucinda' and 'True History of the Kelly Gang' both won the Booker Prize, the latter giving a visceral, first-person voice to the infamous outlaw Ned Kelly. Since the early 1990s, Carey has lived in New York City, a distance that perhaps sharpens his perspective on both his native and adopted countries. His work is characterized by stylistic daring, a fascination with impostors and storytellers, and a profound inquiry into how personal and national narratives are forged, stolen, and redeemed.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Peter was born in 1943, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Peter Was Born
The biggest hits of 1943
#1 Movie
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Best Picture
Casablanca
Peter's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1943Born
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1948Started school
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1956Became a teenager
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1959Could drive
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1961Could vote
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Turned 21
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1973Turned 30
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1983Turned 40
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1993Turned 50
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 60
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 70
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 80
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 83 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the Booker Prize twice, for 'Oscar and Lucinda' (1988) and 'True History of the Kelly Gang' (2001).
- His novel 'True History of the Kelly Gang' also won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize.
- Served as the Executive Director of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program at Hunter College, New York.
- Was inducted into the Australian Writers' Hall of Fame in 2018.
- His novel 'Jack Maggs' is a major reworking of Charles Dickens's 'Great Expectations.'
Did You Know?
He co-founded an advertising agency in London in the 1970s before committing to writing full-time.
He taught creative writing at New York University for many years.
He is an avid motorcyclist and has written about riding across the United States.
He initially studied science at Monash University before switching to advertising.
“We are the nation of the second chance. And we should be proud of that.”
