Though Australia was federated in 1901, and though it has its own prime minister, Queen Elizabeth II-the Queen of England-is still the ruling monarch of the nation. Another important theme present in Jack Maggs is the effect of colonialism. Jack Maggs’s own search for his son is an allegory for Australia’s search for its own national identity, which was ongoing at the time that Carey wrote this novel. Another character, Buckle’s neighbor, Tobias Oates, is a stand-in for Charles Dickens himself, and though he’s meant to assist Maggs in finding his son, instead what he finds is inspiration for the character Magwitch due to his obsession with the criminal mind and trickery. He works for a wealthy Englishman named Percy Buckle. Maggs is on the search for his son, Henry Phipps-Carey’s stand-in for Pip. In Great Expectations, Magwitch is sentenced to transportation to Australia and is absent for much of the story, but Carey, who often writes on the theme of Australian identity, picks up on this dynamic character’s story of redemption. Carey, a novelist and inducted member of the Order of Australia (AO), centers Jack Maggs on his Magwitch-inspired character. In the latter story, Magwitch, a convict, becomes the main character’s-Pip’s-financial benefactor-though his identity is hidden from Pip until the end of the story. Jack Maggs by Peter Philip Carey AO is a 1997 novel based on Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.
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