A&U acquires Mark Tedeschi’s “The Gentleman Bushranger”

Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to the nonfiction title The Gentleman Bushranger: The True Story of Edward Davis, Australia’s Colonial Robin Hood by Mark Tedeschi.

The Gentleman Bushranger tells the “gripping, tragically true story of Teddy Davis – a man who tried to be a Robin Hood in a world that only wanted a hanging”, the publisher said.

“A Jewish stable boy from Gravesend, Teddy Davis was not your typical bushranger. He was a ‘Gentleman’ of the road – a charismatic leader who staged mock trials to punish cruel overseers, dined with his victims, and adorned his gang and their horses with stolen pink ribbons. In the summer of 1840, Davis and his fellow outlaws waged a psychological war against the establishment of colonial New South Wales, enforcing a strict code: rob the master, feed the servant, and spill no blood.”

Tedeschi tells the story “from the high drama of the courtroom to the shadow of the gallows.”

A barrister, author, photographer and former NSW Senior Crown Prosecutor, Tedeschi has previously written Eugenia (2013), Kidnapped (2016), Murder at Myall Creek (2017) and Missing, Presumed Dead (2022), which were all published by Simon & Schuster.

Tedeschi said, “Teddy Davis is an outlaw hero who exposed the dark side of colonial society. He deserves to be as well-known as Ned Kelly.”

Publisher Elizabeth Weiss said, “This is a page-turning colonial adventure about a forgotten Australian hero, and a courtroom drama like no other.”

A&U plans to publish The Gentleman Bushranger in February 2027.

Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions