This exhibition explores the AustLit collection of digitised Speculative Fiction. The collection of 135 works focuses on Australian speculative fiction from the 1830s to 1940s. The works focus on various topics, ranging from lost civilisations/races to apocalyptic fiction and everything in between. Click here to view the full collection.
Throughout my internship with AustLit, I have been focusing on researching Australian speculative fiction, particularly the full text works that have been digitised with the Fisher Library, University of Sydney. Majority of my time has been spent working on the records for these texts, researching various reviews, author information and themes.
Along the way, the theme of lost civilisations appeared consistently throughout many of the works. This exhibition is a discussion of some of the key texts that exhibited this theme, hence playing a focal role in contributing to Australian speculative fiction.
Warning: Please be aware that these works may contain words, terms or descriptions which may be culturally sensitive and are considered inappropriate today, but which reflect the period in which it was written.
To see how this exhibition came together and to view some interesting things that were noticed along the way, have a look at the twitter hashtag #AustLitSFF. For more information on AustLit and to keep in touch with upcoming projects, follow us at @AustLit.
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