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y separately published work icon A Fortunate Life single work   autobiography  
Issue Details: First known date: 1980... 1980 A Fortunate Life
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Born in 1894, Albert Facey lived the rough frontier life of a sheep farmer, survived the gore of Gallipoli, raised a family through the Depression and spent sixty years with his beloved wife, Evelyn. Despite enduring hardships we can barely imagine today, Facey always saw his life as a "fortunate" one. A true classic of Australian literature, his simply written autobiography is an inspiration. It is the story of a life lived to the full – the extraordinary journey of an ordinary man.' (Penguin Australia abstract)

Exhibitions

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon A Fortunate Life Ken Kelso , ( dir. Marcus Cole et. al. )agent 1985 Australia : PBL Productions , 1986 Z1825058 1985 series - publisher film/TV

Mini-series based on the best-selling autobiography by A.B. Facey, tracing his life from the late nineteenth century through Gallipoli and into marriage, fatherhood, and later life.

The mini-series was successful on Australian television, but Moran is unflattering in his appraisal: 'The mini-series was in effect a lovingly authentic visual and aural recreation of the novel. The trouble was that what was a pleasure to read on the printed page was pretty much insufferably boring to watch on screen. The narrative was far too anecdotal and the performances of brothers Dominic and Benedict Sweeney as Facey were dull.'

y separately published work icon A. B. Facey's A Fortunate Life Clem Gorman , Paddington : Harvest Theatre Company Currency Press , 1987 Z858978 1987 single work drama biography

Reading Australia

Reading Australia

This work has Reading Australia teaching resources.

Unit Suitable For

AC: Year 8 (NSW Stage 4)

General Capabilities

Critical and creative thinking, Ethical understanding, Information and communication technology, Intercultural understanding, Literacy

Includes : [Essay] : A Fortunate Life

Teaching Resources

Teaching Resources

This work has teaching resources.

Teaching notes by Fremantle Press for 2018 edition for Younger Readers.

Notes

  • Dedication: I dedicate this book to the memory of my wife, Evelyn. It was her patience and understanding which made it become a reality.
  • Dramatised in 1984 by Clem Gorman for a production by the Melbourne Theatre Company.
  • Adapted for the 1985 film A Fortunate Life directed by Henri Safran. Screenplay by Ken Kelso.
  • Selected in December 2004 by the Australian public in an ABC poll as Australia's tenth favourite book.
  • Ranked #3 in ABC1's First Tuesday Book Club '10 Aussie Books to Read Before You Die' 2012 voting ballot.
  • Manuscript copies of A Fortunate Life are held at the University of Western Australia Library. Other papers relating to Facey are located at the J. S. Battye Library, State Library of Western Australia, including the publishing agreement with Fremantle Arts Centre Press and a copy of Facey's last will and testament.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

      ca. 1980 .
      Extent: 1 boxp.
      (Manuscript) assertion
      Note/s:
      • Donated by John Rose, 1985.

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Western Australia Library
      Local Id: MS0046
    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 1981 .
      image of person or book cover 94841030662689210.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 326p.
      Description: illus., maps, port.
      ISBN: 0140081674
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Viking ,
      1984 .
      Extent: 342 p.p.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 9780670803071, 0670803073
    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2002 .
      image of person or book cover 6660813292218202134.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 330p.
      Edition info: Jacketed ed.
      Description: illus., maps, port.
      ISBN: 0734305109
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2005 .
      image of person or book cover 4070196767346956143.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: x, 422p.p.
      Edition info: Rev. ed.
      Description: illus., map, ports
      Note/s:
      • Includes afterword by Jan Carter (pp. 413-421).
      ISBN: 9780143003540
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2014 .
      image of person or book cover 4657009066446027079.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 511p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 19/11/2014
      ISBN: 9780143571537
      Series: y separately published work icon Penguin Australian Classics Melbourne : Penguin , 2013- 8224044 2013 series - publisher

Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.
  • Also braille.
  • Also large print.

Works about this Work

Archives and the Australian Great War Centenary : Retrospect and Prospect Michael Piggott , 2020 single work criticism
— Appears in: Archives and Manuscripts , vol. 48 no. 2 2020; (p. 109-122)

'Based on a keynote address to the 2018 International Society for First World War Studies conference, the author’s survey of a centenary of archival endeavour comprises four time periods and two themes. It highlights the unique role of the Australian War Memorial and its initial documentation priorities favouring Dr C.E.W. Bean’s official war history, the battlefront and the war dead. A post-centenary open-ended aftermath is also discussed covering processing backlogs, the prospective idea of ‘digital breakthrough’ and the archival implications of ever-widening understandings of the war and its endless aftermaths. The paper ends with an appeal for new voices in researching the documentation of Australia’s Great War experience.' (Publication summary)

Lifelong Learning Kelsey Oldham , 2018 single work column
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , October vol. 97 no. 4 2018; (p. 9-10)

'Kelsey Oldham investigates the role played by younger readers editions in the growth of children's nonfiction.'

The Naked Anzac : Exposure and Concealment in A.B. Facey's A Fortunate Life Ffion Murphy , Richard Nile , 2016 single work criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 75 no. 3 2016; (p. 219-237)
Murphy and Nile discuss Albert Facey's autobiography A Fortunate Life and his experiences of war.
The Many Transformations of Albert Facey Ffion Murphy , Richard Nile , 2016 single work criticism
— Appears in: M/C Journal , August vol. 19 no. 4 2016;

'In the last months of his life, 86-year-old Albert Facey became a best-selling author and revered cultural figure following the publication of his autobiography, A Fortunate Life. Released on Anzac Day 1981, it was praised for its “plain, unembellished, utterly sincere and un-self-pitying account of the privations of childhood and youth” (Semmler) and “extremely powerful description of Gallipoli” (Dutton 16). Within weeks, critic Nancy Keesing declared it an “Enduring Classic.” Within six months, it was announced as the winner of two prestigious non-fiction awards, with judges acknowledging Facey’s “extraordinary memory” and “ability to describe scenes and characters with great precision” (“NBC” 4). ' (Introduction)

Wounded Storyteller : Revisiting Albert Facey's Rortunate Life Ffion Murphy , Richard Nile , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , vol. 60 no. 2 2015; (p. 87-100)
On My Bedside Table Paul Rogers , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 19 January 2008; (p. 26)

— Review of A Fortunate Life A. B. Facey , 1980 single work autobiography ; Islands of Angry Ghosts Hugh Edwards , 1966 single work ; Highway to Hell : The Life and Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott Clinton Walker , 1994 single work biography
On My Bedside Table Graham Edwards , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 1 March 2008; (p. 28)

— Review of A Fortunate Life A. B. Facey , 1980 single work autobiography ; Outlaws of the Leopolds Ion L. Idriess , 1952 single work non-fiction
Local Classics Belle Taylor , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 12 September 2009; (p. 12)

— Review of Cloudstreet Tim Winton , 1991 single work novel ; Sixty Lights Gail Jones , 2004 single work novel ; Gilgamesh : A Novel Joan London , 2001 single work novel ; The Shark Net : Memories and Murder Robert Drewe , 2000 single work autobiography ; A Fortunate Life A. B. Facey , 1980 single work autobiography ; The Well Elizabeth Jolley , 1986 single work novel ; The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea Randolph Stow , 1965 single work novel
A Good, Hard Life Put to Paper Elizabeth Riddell , 1981 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 1 September vol. 101 no. 5278 1981; (p. 94,97)

— Review of A Fortunate Life A. B. Facey , 1980 single work autobiography
Cobbett and Facey Peter Shrubb , 1981 single work review
— Appears in: Quadrant , November vol. 25 no. 11 1981; (p. 39-42)

— Review of A Fortunate Life A. B. Facey , 1980 single work autobiography
Categorical Infringement : Australian Prose in the Eighties Carolyn Bliss , 1991 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Narrative Technique , Winter vol. 21 no. 1 1991; (p. 43-51)
Turning Full Circle Lindy Brophy , 1991 single work column
— Appears in: Fremantle Arts Review , August vol. 6 no. 8 1991; (p. 12-13)
Bookmaker's Diary Clive Newman , 2004 single work column
— Appears in: Australian Bookseller & Publisher , October vol. 84 no. 4 2004; (p. 20)
The 'Fortunate' and the 'Imagined' : Landscape, Myth and Created Self in A. B. Facey and David Malouf Heather Wearne , 1992 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Making of a Pluralist Australia 1950-1990: Selected Papers from the Inaugural EASA Conference 1991 1992; (p. 149-160)
A Fortunate Life : A B Facey (1894-1982) Jane Gleeson-White , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Classics : Fifty Great Writers and Their Celebrated Works 2007; (p. 124-128)
Last amended 3 Oct 2018 09:18:20
Settings:
  • c
    Australia,
    c
  • c
    Turkey,
    c
    Middle East, Asia,
  • Kalgoorlie, Goldfields area, Southeast Western Australia, Western Australia,
  • 1890s
  • 1900-1999
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