''The Last Wizard'' is a 1995

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. magic (paranormal), Magic, the supernatural and Legendary creature, magical creatures are common i ...

by Tony Shillitoe. It follows the story of Tamesan who lives in a land where Wizards have been outlawed. Rejecting the way of the other women Tamesan chooses to study the art of healing and discovers the secret behind Dragon Mountain.

Background

''The Last Wizard'' was first published in Australia in 1995 by

Pan Macmillan Pan Books is a British publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. History Pan Books began as an indepe ...

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

format. It was a short-list nominee for the 1995

Aurealis Award The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award. History The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 by ...

for best fantasy novel but lost to

Garth Nix Garth Richard Nix (born 19 July 1963) is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the ''The Old Kingdom, Old Kingdom'', ''The Seventh Tower, Seventh Tower'' and ''The Keys to the Kingdom, Keys t ...

's ''

Sabriel ''Sabriel'' is a fantasy novel by Garth Nix, first published in 1995. It is the first in his Old Kingdom (book series), Old Kingdom series, followed by ''Lirael'', ''Abhorsen'', ''Clariel'', ''Old Kingdom (book series)#Goldenhand, Goldenhand,'' ...

''. The central character was created as a homage by Shillitoe to his daughters to remind them that socio-gender stereotyping is worth challenging. ''The Last Wizard'', despite being long out of print, is still used as a text in schools .

Synopsis

Essentially a 'coming of age' teenage novel, ''The Last Wizard'' follows the efforts of Tam, daughter of the village Head, to establish her own place in the world while unravelling the dark secrets of her village culture.

References

External links

* 1995 Australian novels Australian fantasy novels Pan Books books {{1990s-fantasy-novel-stub