Price Warung, as I wrote in my previous post on him, is the pseudonym used by English-born Australian writer, William Astley, who came to Australia with his parents in 1859 when he was still a child. Astley became a radical journalist and short-story writer, with particular interests in transportation/convict literature, and the Labour and Federation … Continue reading Price Warung, Selected tales of Price Warung (#BookReview)
Convict literature
Rod Howard, A forger’s tale: The extraordinary story of Henry Savery, Australia’s first novelist (Review)
"Name Australia's first published novelist" is, I think, a question that would trick most Australians at a trivia night. Rod Howard, who wrote the biography, A forger's tale, about this writer would agree, as would the writer in the West Australian in 1950 to whom I referred a couple of months ago. Henry Savery, in … Continue reading Rod Howard, A forger’s tale: The extraordinary story of Henry Savery, Australia’s first novelist (Review)
Margaret Mendelawitz, Charles Dickens’ Australia. Book 1, Convict stories
So true may fiction be in the hands of a genius (from "Convict in the gold region", by Richard Horne) Richard Horne, in his article "Convicts from the gold region", describes a scene from Don Quixote in which Quixote meets and sets free some convicts by driving away their guards, only to have his generosity … Continue reading Margaret Mendelawitz, Charles Dickens’ Australia. Book 1, Convict stories
Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers from our Deep South
Yes, Australia has a "deep south", though we may not necessarily call it that. It's Tasmania, an island hanging off the southeast of mainland Australia. Like Western Australia, it can sometimes feel like another country. You have to go over the sea to it - and when you get there, you sometimes find yourself saying, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers from our Deep South
Katharine Susannah Prichard, The pioneers
Katharine Susannah Prichard (1883-1969) is probably not as well-known in Australia, let alone internationally, as she should be. She was born in Fiji, but grew up in Tasmania and Melbourne, travelled overseas and in other parts of Australia, before settling in Western Australia in 1919. She was a founding member of the Australian Communist … Continue reading Katharine Susannah Prichard, The pioneers
Jessica Anderson, The commandant
When I first read about Sydney University Press's Australian Classics Library, the book I really wanted to read was The commandant by Jessica Anderson. It's her only historical novel, but its subject matter doesn't stray much from what she told Jennifer Ellison in an interview many years ago, "I was very much, and always have been, preoccupied with people who … Continue reading Jessica Anderson, The commandant
Price Warung, Tales of the early days
Okay, I admit it, I have convict ancestors (plural even!). Consequently, I was particularly interested to read Price Warung's 1894 collection of short stories, Tales of the early days, when I discovered it was part of the Australian Classics Library recently published by the Sydney University Press. My convicts include John Warby who, with another labourer, … Continue reading Price Warung, Tales of the early days
Whispering Gums 