Schindler's Ark

Schindler's Ark is a historical fiction published in 1982 by the Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. It is a fictionalised story based on the historical figure, Oskar Schindler. The United States edition of the book was titled Schindler's List; it was later reissued in Commonwealth countries under that name as well. The novel won the Booker Prize, a literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, and was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction in 1983. The book tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi Party who becomes an unlikely hero by saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. It follows actual people and events, with fictional dialogue and scenes added by the author where exact details are unknown. Keneally wrote a number of well-received novels before and after Schindler's Ark; however, in the wake of its highly successful 1993 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg, it has since gone on to become his best-known and celebrated work. In 2022, the novel was included on the "Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.