| Proteus | |
| Author: | Morris West |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Publisher: | Collins |
| Release Date: | 1979 |
| Media Type: | |
| Pages: | 273 pp. |
| Isbn: | 0002216744 |
| Preceded By: | The Navigator |
| Followed By: | The Clowns of God |
Proteus (1979) is a novel by Australian writer Morris West. It was originally published by Collins in England in 1979.[1]
The novel's protagonist is John Spada, an Italian-American who leads a multinational corporation. He also secretly heads a covert organisation called Proteus, aiming to free prisoners of conscience around the world. To achieve this, Proteus threatens to release a deadly botulism culture into selected cities' water supply.
John Philip in The Canberra Times thought that the "essence of a gripping yarn is there; but the story, as itunfolds, falters and finally fails." He concluded: "All in all, a disappointing novel. A great deal of action is developed around a topical theme; but finally Morris West loses touch with reality."[2]
In her literary study of West and his work, Maryanne Confoy noted: "In Proteus West was trying to discover whether the goodness of one human being could triumph over the evil of another. If the thoroughly evil person violated a thoroughly good person, could such a violation be overcome by goodness alone? Would the good person have to resort to evil in the effort to sustain live."[3]
After its original publication in 1979 in England by publishers Collins[4] the novel was later published as follows:
and many other paperback editions.
The novel was translated into: Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Brazilian, Danish, Norwegian, German, French and Spanish in 1979; Finnish, Swedish and Japanese in 1980; Hebrew in 1982; and Slovenian in 1985 .