James Joyce's aunts must be turning in their graves.That their home has become known as the "House of the Dead", after the famous short story, is bad enough. But now 15 Ushers Island has been taken over by a bunch of outlaws: Ned Kelly and his gang.
Ned at the Dead is the catchy title for an incongruous meeting between Ireland's greatest novelist and Australia's leading bushranger.
On the other hand, as the exhibition organisers point out, Ned Kelly was a storyteller too. If he didn't write books himself, his "Jerilderie Letter" was the inspiration of a Booker Prize-winning novel. Besides, in recent years, his life has been subjected to almost as much interpretation as Joyce's work.
For Mary Dalmau, the Melbourne bookseller who put the show together, Ned at the Dead is a case of "bringing the Kelly story back home".
The guardians of Australia's heritage would not necessarily agree. An act of parliament prevents Ned's iconic suit of armour leaving Australia, and it took two years of talks to get the next best thing here. The home-made helmet of his brother Dan is now also so treasured, it was given its own seat on the aeroplane.
The gang's story still divides Australia, according to Ian Jones, a leading Kelly historian. Even a few years ago, he says, the Kellys were seen as nothing more than criminals. The complexity of their story and its importance in Australian history is now grudgingly acknowledged. Mr Jones will give a number of talks over the next fortnight. The exhibition also includes Ned Kelly's death mask, his favourite rifle, and a facsimile of the Jerilderie Letter - a 56-page "manifesto" written before his death.
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