Over the years, I've invited people to write guest posts on my blog, including Bill a couple of years ago. However, when Bill (The Australian Legend) became aware of my current family care situation and its impact on my reading and posting, he offered to organise some guest Monday Musings posts for me. It lifted … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Guest post from Bill on Melbourne and Sydney, 1880-1939
20th century literature
Angela Thirkell, Trooper to the Southern Cross (#BookReview)
Unlike many, I think, I have not read Angela Thirkell's Barsetshire novels which, I understand are very different to her only Australian-set novel, Trooper to the Southern Cross, which, in fact, she published under the male pseudonym of Leslie Parker. It has been on my TBR for some time, so I'm grateful that Bill's AWW Gen 3 … Continue reading Angela Thirkell, Trooper to the Southern Cross (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Christina Stead’s 1930s, Beauties and Bankers
Today's Monday Musings post is the second of two on Christina Stead that I promised for Bill's (The Australian Legend) AWW Gen 3 Week. These two posts - last week's and this - focus on contemporary Australian responses to her four 1930s-published books, based primarily on my research of Trove. Last week's post looked at The Salzburg tales … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Christina Stead’s 1930s, Beauties and Bankers
Ruth Park and D’Arcy Niland, The drums go bang! (#BookReview)
Volume 1 of Ruth Park's autobiography, A fence around the cuckoo, covers the period of her life up to when she lands in Australia to marry D'Arcy Niland. Not being sure, perhaps, that there'd be a sequel, Park concludes with: We lived together for twenty-five years less five weeks. We had many fiery disagreements but … Continue reading Ruth Park and D’Arcy Niland, The drums go bang! (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Christina Stead’s 1930s, Salzburg and Sydney
My first Monday musings on Christina Stead (my posts on Stead) was barely introductory, so I'm planning two more to coincide with Bill's (The Australian Legend) AWW Gen 3 Week. These two posts - this week's and next - focus contemporary Australian responses to the four books she published in the 1930s. I'm keeping this focus tight … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Christina Stead’s 1930s, Salzburg and Sydney
Joan Didion, Quiet days in Malibu (#Review)
As for many people I expect, Joan Didion's now classic The year of magical thinking made a lasting impression on me, so I was keen to read her essay "Quiet days in Malibu" when it popped up as a Library of America (LOA) Story of the Week back in November. I was also interested in the subject matter. … Continue reading Joan Didion, Quiet days in Malibu (#Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Random thoughts from the mid-1930s
I've written a few posts in recent months about Australian literary culture in the 1930s - on moving beyond "gumleaf and goanna", on setting vs character, and two (here and here) on where Australian literature was heading. This week, I'm returning to the topic to share a random selection of comments made about Australian fiction in … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Random thoughts from the mid-1930s
Monday musings on Australian literature: Whither Australian literature, 1930s (Pt. 2)?
As I wrote last week, I apologise to those of you not interested in the history of Australian literature, because yes again I am continuing my little survey of contemporary writing about Australian literature in the 1930s. This week I plan to look at some another discussion about the place of and interest in Australian … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Whither Australian literature, 1930s (Pt. 2)?
Monday musings on Australian literature: Whither Australian literature, 1930s (Pt. 1)?
Apologies to those of you not interested in the history of Australian literature, because this week and next I'm continuing my little survey of contemporary writing about Australian literature in the 1930s. My first post discussed the move from "gumleaf and goanna" to other topics, and last week's focused on discussions about the importance of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Whither Australian literature, 1930s (Pt. 1)?
Monday musings on Australian literature: Setting vs Character in 1930s Australian fiction
Today's post continues the discussion started in last Monday's "gumleaf and goanna" post. It looks particularly at what reviewers were saying about setting/scene and character, through five Australian books that were reviewed in papers during the decade. There was clearly a lot of engagement in the community about the development of Australian literature, and you can … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Setting vs Character in 1930s Australian fiction
Whispering Gums 