Author Description
Product Description Thomas Alexander Browne (1826-1915) was an Australian writer who sometimes published under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood and who is best known for his novel Robbery Under Arms (1882). Browne spent some twenty-five years as a squatter and about the same time as a government official, but his third career as author extended over forty years. In 1865 he wrote two articles on pastoral life in Australia for the Cornhill Magazine, and he also began to contribute articles and serial stories to the Australian weeklies. One of these, Ups and Downs: A Story of Australian Life, was published in book form in London in 1878. It was re-issued as The Squatter's Dream in 1890. Other novels appeared in quick succession, including The Miner's Right: A Tale of the Australian Goldfields (1890), A Sydney-Side Saxon (1891), Nevermore (1892), A Modern Buccaneer (1894), The Sphinx of Eaglehawk (1895), The Crooked Stick (1895), The Sealskin Coat (1896), My Run Home (1897), Plain Living (1898), A Romance of Canvas Town and Other Stories (1898), War to the Knife (1899), Babes in the Bush (1900), and The Last Chance (1905). About the Author Paul EggertFAHA is Professor of English at the University of New South Wales at ADFA, Canberra, where he has directed the Australian Scholarly Editions Centre since 1993 and served as general editor of the Academy Editions of Australian Literature. He edited two critical editions for the Cambridge Works of D. H. Lawrence, and is co-editingUnder Western Eyes for the Cambridge Works of Joseph Conrad. He is president of the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand and writes in the areas of Australian print culture, editorial theories of the text, and the restoration of historic buildings and paintings.
Menrva's Summary
THE PULSE
Dick Marston, a young man drawn into the criminal underworld of the Australian bush, must navigate the consequences of his choices as he follows the charismatic bushranger Captain Starlight. The narrative unfolds as a first-person confession written by Dick while awaiting execution, detailing his descent from a simple life as a squatter into the high-stakes world of cattle rustling and armed robbery. He faces constant pressure from the law, the harsh realities of the colonial frontier, and the moral erosion caused by his loyalty to his brother and his outlaw companions. The story operates within the rigid social and legal structures of 19th-century Australia, where the vast, unforgiving landscape serves as both a refuge and a trap for those living outside the law.
INSIDE THE PAGES
- First-person confessional narrative framework
- Detailed depictions of 19th-century Australian pastoral life
- Exploration of the bushranger archetype
- Focus on the moral conflict between family loyalty and legal duty
- Extensive use of regional dialect and period-specific slang
- Vivid descriptions of the Australian outback environment
- Pacing that balances long periods of survival with sudden bursts of criminal action
- Examination of the socio-economic conditions of the colonial frontier
THE COLLECTIVE ECHO
Readers and critics frequently identify this work as a foundational text in Australian literature, noting its significant influence on the development of the national literary identity. Discussion often centers on the authenticity of the bush setting and the author's ability to capture the vernacular of the era. Many observers highlight the tension between the romanticized image of the bushranger and the grim reality of the protagonist's eventual downfall. The pacing is often described as deliberate, reflecting the slow, arduous nature of life in the colonial interior. Scholars frequently analyze the text for its insights into the social stratification and legal challenges present in 19th-century New South Wales.
Page Count:
680
Publication Date:
1963-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0192505106
ISBN-13:
9780192505101
Western
Crime
Fiction
Historical Fiction
Adventure
Subjects
Contemporary
Genre Fiction
Historical
Australian
Classic Literature
Literature & Fiction