AustLit

'A comprehensive account of Australian literature from the first settlement in 1788 to the current day, this book represents the most important achievements in Australian poetry, drama, and fiction as well as non-fictional prose–journals, diaries, biographies, and autobiographies–and details the impact on the writing caused by those historical events that often serve as a work's theme. More than 3,000 informative entries cover subjects such as transportation, exploration, gold discoveries, bushranging, and outback ethos, all of which played a part in the development of the continent's literature as did the pervasive presence and influence of the Aboriginal culture. Entries range from lengthy articles on special topics to brief factual paragraphs explaining words or references. Also provided is information and reference sources on important past and contemporary writers as well as anything and everything that may have influenced their development: the growth of publishing and periodicals; the impact of movements such as nationalism, racialism, and feminism; and the contributions made by booksellers, critics, and literary associations. A major new Oxford Companion, this book makes an intriguing new genre of literature accessible to all readers.' (Source: On-line)

Andrews discusses the popularity and number in the early 1890s of Warung's convict stories in the Bulletin, arguing that the way Australians look at their convict past originates there. Warung's debatable view of the convict as one sinned against rather than sinner has survived well into the twentieth century. But because the stories have come to be seen as "contrived, melodramatic, excessively documented and verbose", their literary reputation has suffered.