OSCAR AND LUCINDA By PETER CAREY

Oscar and Lucinda is a celebrated historical novel written by Peter Carey and first published in 1988. The story follows the lives of two eccentric yet fascinating characters whose paths eventually cross in 19th-century Australia.

Oscar Hopkins is the son of a strict religious father in England who grows up to become a clergyman. Despite his religious devotion, Oscar secretly develops a passion for gambling, believing that games of chance reveal the will of God.

Meanwhile, Lucinda Leplastrier is an independent and wealthy young woman who inherits a glass factory in Australia. Like Oscar, she also enjoys gambling and believes strongly in the power of luck and risk.

When Oscar travels to Australia as a missionary, the two characters meet and form an unusual connection. Together they make an extraordinary wager—to transport a fragile glass church across the harsh Australian landscape. This ambitious journey becomes a powerful symbol of faith, risk, ambition, and the unpredictable nature of life.

Blending humor, romance, history, and adventure, the novel explores themes of belief, chance, colonial society, and human obsession. Oscar and Lucinda received international acclaim and won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1988, establishing Peter Carey as one of the leading voices in modern literature.