Nimblefoot by Robert Drewe
About Robert Drewe
Robert Drewe is the author of eight novels, four books of short stories, two plays, two memoirs and four other works of non-fiction. His work has been widely translated, won national and international prizes and been adapted for film, television, theatre and radio. For further information, visit:
A Quote from Robert Drewe
“It was a surprise and an honour for my novel Nimblefoot to be long-listed for the 2023 ARA Historical Novel Prize.”
“I’m more than delighted that such an award exists to showcase our history, which has been a constant bee in my bonnet ever since I began my novel-writing career with The Savage Crows in 1976. Let’s face it, for a writer of fiction — and a historical backdrop has also influenced my other novels Our Sunshine, The Drowner and Whipbird — you can’t go past our unique and fascinating past for conflict, tension, challenges and compelling characters.”
About Nimblefoot
At the age of ten, a small boy from Ballarat named Johnny Day became Australia’s first international sporting hero. Against adult competition he wooed crowds across continents as the World Champion in pedestrianism, the sporting craze of the day.
A few years later, in 1870, he won the Melbourne Cup on a horse aptly called Nimblefoot, winning the hearts of British royalty and Melbourne’s high society. And then he disappeared without a trace.
Robert Drewe picks up where history leaves off, re-imagining Johnny’s life following his great Cup win. In doing so he brings us an adventure story, a coming-of-age classic, a man-hunt, a thriller – but most of all, a rollicking good yarn.
Johnny Day is a character who couldn’t be invented, but in the masterful re-imagining of his life Robert Drewe shows storytelling at its best, and lays claim to Johnny Day’s rightful place in Australia’s illustrious sporting history.
