Marshall Browne
read an extract from Marshall's speech about writing
his historical trilogy
Marshall Browne, born in Melbourne, is a sixth generation Australian.
His forebear, a Calcutta merchant of Irish-Persian parentage, arrived
in Sydney in 1809, and bought a grazing property near Cabramatta. With
other land granted by Governor Macquarie, he settled down to New South
Wales life as both merchant and grazier. He was one of the founders of
Australia's first bank – The Bank of New South Wales. Marshall followed
several others of the family line into banking.
During 1974-81 he was based in Hong Kong. He began writing novels in his spare time, and three with Far East backgrounds were published in London – the best known of which is City of Masks: a thriller set in Hong Kong's back streets and banking boardrooms which was translated into German, and published in Munich. From 1982-1995 he lived variously in London, Melbourne and Bhutan, in a variety of banking roles. He also served as a commando in the Australian forces, and as a paratrooper in the British forces. He now lives in Melbourne with his wife Merell, an interior designer.
He has written a series of historical novels set in Melbourne in the 1880s and 1890s. The Gilded Cage (2002), The Burnt City and The Trumpeting Angel (2001) have received considerable critical acclaim. He is a prize-winning short story writer, who was awarded the My Brother Jack Award in 1999.
He is also the author of an historical thriller, set in Germany during World War II, The Eye of the Abyss, which was serialised on our website in 2001 and will be published in August 2002.
The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders is the first in a series starring the Inspector, and the winner of the NED KELLY award for best first crime novel of 2000, and has been shortlisted for the LA Times Crime Novel of 2001. The second, Inspector Anders and the Ship of Fools, was published by Duffy and Snellgrove in September 2001. He is currently working on a third.
In August 2003, Duffy & Snellgrove published a new edition of The Burnt City with maps and other information relating to the trilogy of historical novels.
Browne writes as excitingly as John Le Carré. - Courier Mail
Praise for The Burnt City
a page-turner novel. It is the best Australian book I have opened this year. - Adelaide Advertiser
an accomplished thriller that delves deeply into the machinations of high finance and political corruption - Australian Book Review
