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'As a lad in the high country of eastern Victoria, Tag Wardell shows an extraordinary gift with animals: he is followed to school by his pets; his rapport with his horse, Dimble, becomes the talk of the district; and he even manages to befriend a mob of brumbies during an adventure with his schoolmates in the Dargo high plains.
'Later, when he becomes a blacksmith, locals come to watch him at work, amazed at his ability to calm the meanest of nags. But 1914 brings war, and the government's patriotic fervour entices Tag and his mates to join the Light Horse Brigade.
'For Tag, war begins as an adventure. On the convoy to Egypt, he is quickly singled out to help the distressed horses. Then, while on leave in Cairo, he meets Jill, a nurse, but their brief romance is cut short as Gallipoli looms. Tag's life spirals into one of survival in the day-to-day madness of the trenches.
'In the years that follow, Tag comes up against conditions that are terrible for man and beast, and he discovers the hardship and joy that come with wartime love. In the face of it all, his unique abilities bring about essential changes in the handling of horses under fire - and expose him to death and disaster.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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To the nearly one million horses who died during World War 1. In 1926, a granite horse-trough was constructed to mark the contribution of horses to Australia's battles. Originally unveiled in St Kilda Road, Melbourne, the memorial was relocated to the Shrine of Remembrance in 1987. It was erected by the Purple Cross Society of Victoria, a group concerned with the welfare of horses.
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Epigraph: Epigraph: I have returned to these: The farm, and the kindly Bush, and the young calves lowing; But all that my mind sees Is a quaking bog in a mist - stark, snapped trees, And the dark Somme flowing. -Vance Palmer, 'The Farmer Remembers the Somme' (1919)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
Untitled
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , May/June vol. 88 no. 8 2009; (p. 30)
— Review of Tag : A Man, A Woman, and the War to End All Wars 2009 single work novel -
The Downside of Fussiness
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , July-August no. 313 2009; (p. 16)
— Review of Tag : A Man, A Woman, and the War to End All Wars 2009 single work novel -
Fiction Books
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 6 - 7 June 2009; (p. 26)
— Review of Tag : A Man, A Woman, and the War to End All Wars 2009 single work novel
-
Fiction Books
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 6 - 7 June 2009; (p. 26)
— Review of Tag : A Man, A Woman, and the War to End All Wars 2009 single work novel -
The Downside of Fussiness
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , July-August no. 313 2009; (p. 16)
— Review of Tag : A Man, A Woman, and the War to End All Wars 2009 single work novel -
Untitled
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , May/June vol. 88 no. 8 2009; (p. 30)
— Review of Tag : A Man, A Woman, and the War to End All Wars 2009 single work novel
- Maffra - Stratford - Dargo area, Central Gippsland, Gippsland, Victoria,
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cEgypt,cNorth Africa, Africa,
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Gallipoli,
cTurkey,cMiddle East, Asia,
- 1900s
- 1910s