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  • Published: 2 January 2014
  • ISBN: 9780143571049
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 720
  • RRP: $24.99
Categories:

Jack Of Diamonds




Set across three continents, Jack of Diamonds is a spellbinding story of chance, music, corruption and love – and Bryce Courtenay's last novel.

During the Great Depression there was little hope for a boy born into the slums of Cabbagetown, Toronto. But Jack Spayd is offered a ticket out in the form of a Hohner harmonica, won by his brutal drunken father in a late-night card game. Jack makes music as a way of escaping his surroundings, and his talent leads him to a jazz club and, eventually, to the jazz piano.
Jack is a virtuoso and hits the road, enchanting audiences in Canada, wartime Europe and Las Vegas, where he is caught up in the world of elite poker and falls under the spell of his boss, the enigmatic Bridgett Fuller. Vegas is a hard town ruled by the Mafia, but Jack prospers, until his luck turns bad and he falls foul of the Mob. Forced to run for his life from Vegas, he must also leave the woman he adores. His adventuring takes him to the far reaches of Africa, to a rare and valuable bird that may seal his fate – and to the love of a very different woman.
Set across three continents, Jack of Diamonds is a spellbinding story of chance, music, corruption and love - and Bryce Courtenay's last novel
'Jack of Diamonds is classic Courtenay.' The Age

  • Published: 2 January 2014
  • ISBN: 9780143571049
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 720
  • RRP: $24.99
Categories:

About the author

Bryce Courtenay

The Late Bryce Courtenay was the bestselling author of The Power of One, Tandia, April Fool's Day, The Potato Factory, Tommo & Hawk, Solomon's Song, Jessica, A Recipe for Dreaming, The Family Frying Pan, The Night Country, Smoky Joe's Cafe, Four Fires, Matthew Flinders' Cat, Brother Fish, Whitethorn, Sylvia, The Persimmon Tree, Fishing for Stars, The Story of Danny Dunn, Fortune Cookie, Jack of Diamonds and The Silver Moon: Reflections and Stories on Life, Death and Writing. The Power of One is also available in an edition for younger readers, and Jessica has been made into an award-winning television miniseries.

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Praise for Jack Of Diamonds

Jack of Diamonds is classic Courtenay.

The Age

The main achievement of Jack of Diamonds is to offer ... a sense of [Courtenay's] real voice, of the intelligent, engaged and kind human being who wrote it.'

The Age

His books may incidentally have promoted racial tolerance among his many readers, who would then have this to thank him for, along with decades of entertainment.

Weekend Australian

This book will be treasured by many.

Hobsons Bay Leader

An entertaining read.

Launceston Examiner

Yet another blockbuster [to delight] his loyal readers.

Burnie Advocate

Few authors can match Courtenay for sheer readability no matter the topic.

Sunday Age

Awards & recognition

Australian Book Industry Awards

Shortlisted  •  2013  •  General Fiction Book of the Year

Discover more

Article
A guide to Bryce Courtenay’s most beloved books

Bryce Courtenay: Storyteller is a memoir of Australia’s most beloved writer, written by his wife Christine Courtenay. Bryce Courtenay wrote twenty-one books in twenty-three years, and this candid, loving tribute reveals the man behind the books. But where should you start with Bryce’s work?