The Runner

Set in Richmond, Victoria, in 1919 we meet Charlie Feehan who lives with his mother and baby brother. The house was in a slum area in Richmond and the family struggled to survive, especially after the death of Charlie's father several months before. Charlie attended the local school but decided to try for a job as a runner for the local gangster, Squizzy Taylor, to provide the family with extra cash. Charlie's mother did not approve of her son working for Squizzy Taylor so Charlie had to keep the job a secret.

Mr and Mrs Redmond lived next door to Charlie's family and helped them when they could. Knowing that Charlie was an excellent runner, Mr Redmond offered to train Charlie to run in the annual mile race at Ballarat. After working for Squizzy Taylor for a while, Charlie decided that a safer career option would be take up Mr Redmond's offer.

The Runner, by Robert Newton, is a novel about challenges faced by many families trying to survive after the First World War. Squizzy Taylor was a real person whose gangster activities expanded into Fitzroy until he was killed in October 1927. Most of the other characters are fictional. Themes in the book include poverty, friendship, grief, organised crime, ambition and adolescence.

The Runner is one of the novels studied by my grandson in year eight.