Monday musings on Australian literature: Literary culture in colonial Australia

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National Library of Australia, from the other side of Lake Burley Griffin Bill of The Australian Legend's AWW Gen 1 Week, which has just finished, focused on the authors and the books they wrote about colonial Australia. However, what about the readers? I've been planning to write a post on literary culture in colonial Australia for … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Literary culture in colonial Australia

Tasma (Jessie Couvreur), Uncle Piper of Piper’s Hill (#BookReview)

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The first thing to say about Tasma's debut novel Uncle Piper of Piper's Hill is that it's rather wordy, speaking to a literacy different from that of today's readers. For this reason, Uncle Piper won't appeal to readers who like short simple sentences, and a plot which moves along at a good clip with little … Continue reading Tasma (Jessie Couvreur), Uncle Piper of Piper’s Hill (#BookReview)

Monday musings on Australian literature: Tasma (aka Jessie Couvreur)

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Tasma, c. 1890. (Public Domain, from the State Library of Victoria, via Wikipedia) This week Bill (of The Australian Legend) is running an Australian Women Writers Gen 1 Week, through which he plans to highlight Australian women writers from our first generation of writers, which he defines as "those writers who came before the 1890s … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Tasma (aka Jessie Couvreur)

Jenny Ackland, The secret son (#BookReview)

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Melbourne-based author Jenny Ackland has tried something rather audacious in her debut novel, The Secret Son. Instead of following the autobiographical route that many first novelists do, she has leapt right in and tackled, albeit from left field, one of Australia's most controversial legends, Ned Kelly. But, here's the rub: it's not exactly about Ned … Continue reading Jenny Ackland, The secret son (#BookReview)

Monday musings on Australian literature: Some New Releases in 2018

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This, you may be pleased to know, is the last of my set of end-of-year-beginning-of-year posts. And, as is obvious from the post title, it's about books that will be published this year. As in previous years, I'll just be sharing a selection of those that interest me (though listing them doesn't mean that I … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Some New Releases in 2018

Six degrees of separation, FROM The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency TO …

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It's a new year and I've committed, for the moment at least, to continuing with the Six Degrees meme which is currently hosted by Kate (booksaremyfavouriteandbest). For details about the meme, please click the link on Kate's blog-name. Meanwhile, on with the challenge. This month we start with a book that I have, in fact, read, … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency TO …

Bruce Beresford, The best film I never made (#BookReview)

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Bruce Beresford, author of The best film I never made, is of special interest to me for a couple of reasons, besides the fact that I've enjoyed many of his films over the years. One is that after a few years of taking (or, perhaps, "dragging" is more accurate) our then young son to various classic … Continue reading Bruce Beresford, The best film I never made (#BookReview)