AustLit

'Australian literary writing of the First World War remains largely unappreciated in the Australian cultural landscape. While there has been some scholarly consideration of this literature, notably by Robin Gerster and more recently by Christina Spittel, much remains to be said about those who have used fiction to say something about the experience of the First World War. Clare Rhoden's book, based on her PhD thesis, is a valuable contribution to this study. She argues that Australian readers have preferred overseas literary accounts of the war to those written by Australians, and by turning the spotlight on these narratives, Rhoden hopes to increase our appreciation and understanding of them.'