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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'When Hugo Throssell joined the 10th Light Horse Regiment in 1914, soon after the outbreak of the First World War, he was emblematic of the young Australian nation at that time: full of youth, vigour, courage and idealism. These traits were to see him awarded a Victoria Cross after the savage fighting for Hill 60 during the Gallipoli campaign. Badly wounded, Throssell was sent to England to recover.
There he met his future wife, Katharine Susannah Prichard, journalist, novelist and committed socialist. It was a relationship that changed the course of his life, for although he was to return to fight in Palestine, his view of the conflict began to turn. By 1919, Throssell – once hailed as an Australian hero – was ready to publicly denounce the war. His stance was to forever alienate him from former comrades and the political establishment. The war affected him in other ways too, as he found himself unable to hold down a job and increasingly prone to episodes of depression. In 1933, Throssell killed himself, leaving behind his beloved wife and only child. In his triumph and tragedy he remained as emblematic to his country as he'd been in those heady days of 1914, an example of courage and sacrifice whose youth and future had been forever darkened by the experience of war.' (Publisher's website)
Notes
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Dedication: To Hugo Vivian Hope Throssell// To you, all these wild weeds/ And wind flowers of my life, / I bring, my lord,/ And lay them at your feet;/ They are not frankincense/ Or myrrh,/ But you were Krishna, Christ and Dionysos/ In your beauty, tenderness and strength.// - Katharine Susannah Prichard
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
The People's Nib
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28-29 September 2013; (p. 29) -
The Decline and Death of a War Hero
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , November vol. 56 no. 11 2012; (p. 110-112)
— Review of The Price of Valour 2012 single work biography -
Non-Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 22 September 2012; (p. 32) The Sydney Morning Herald , 22-23 September 2012; (p. 37)
— Review of The Price of Valour 2012 single work biography -
Non Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 22 - 23 September 2012; (p. 23)
— Review of The Price of Valour 2012 single work biography -
Books
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane News , 19 - 25 September no. 900 2012; (p. 27)
— Review of The Price of Valour 2012 single work biography
-
Tragedy Outweighs Triumph
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 25 August 2012; (p. 23)
— Review of The Price of Valour 2012 single work biography -
Books
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane News , 19 - 25 September no. 900 2012; (p. 27)
— Review of The Price of Valour 2012 single work biography -
Non Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 22 - 23 September 2012; (p. 23)
— Review of The Price of Valour 2012 single work biography -
Non-Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 22 September 2012; (p. 32) The Sydney Morning Herald , 22-23 September 2012; (p. 37)
— Review of The Price of Valour 2012 single work biography -
The Decline and Death of a War Hero
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , November vol. 56 no. 11 2012; (p. 110-112)
— Review of The Price of Valour 2012 single work biography -
Tragedy of Anti-Hero Shunned
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25-26 August 2012; (p. 19) -
The People's Nib
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28-29 September 2013; (p. 29)
Awards
- 2013 longlisted Mark and Evette Moran Nib Award for Literature
Last amended 18 Nov 2013 11:22:54
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