In 1919 Australia's official war correspondent Charles Bean returned to Gallipoli to gather artefacts from the famous Anzac Cove skirmish and bring them back to Australia. He discovered a wealth of material, from weapons to bullets to boats to the skeletons of the dead. It was a massive undertaking, and Bean recorded the experience in his book Gallipoli Mission.
Condon's novel examines Bean's journey and his intention to retrieve the material for what would ultimately become the Australian War Memorial. It was during this mission that Bean was in fact assembling the foundations of the Anzac myth, which pervades more than ever to this day.
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