AustLit

Tale of rough miners conversion by true nobility in N. Z. The egalitarian opinions of the inhabitants of a New Zealand goldfields town on the appointment of a new governor are changed by the untiring efforts of two strangers - a man and wife - to save the life of a miner's child. The couple, the Earl and Countess of Dalhousie, die from the effects of their strenuous night soon after their return to England. Factually based, familiar moral; rough miners' sentiments refreshing and amusing despite overt message of tale. (PB)

Pleasant tale of a cheery London widow who promises to find husbands for the two eldest daughters of a friend, a poor clergyman's wife, and finally resorts to a shady matrimonial agency run by a Scotsman. Her efforts are finally successful - if not splendid. (PB)

Bizarre adventure of a shipwrecked Englishman aboard a floating wreck with a cruel tyrant in the guise of a negro, a Spaniard who is quickly murdered, and three badly mistreated Asians - a Chinese, Malay and 'Hindoo'. Discovering the negro's secret he is rescued from a slow and maddening death only at the last moment. (PB)

Tale of the Civil War in Virginia and the slaying of a widowed major and his young son, the major's escort, surprised by a Union detachment. An old negress declaims the murders ... Strong anti-war sentiments. Slight tale - almost a sketch. (PB)

Tale of a nurse's revenge on the doctor who rejected her by changing his prescriptions so that his patients died. Plain narrative. (PB)

Domestic tale. Six months into their marriage a couple quarrel over the husband's untidiness and the wife's urgings for him to put his things away. They meet half-way - both agree to amend. Quarrel well presented; conclusion tamely conventional. Slight. (PB)

Tale of the shelter and assistance given to a handsome French refugee from the Revolution by an intelligent and beautiful woman from Brussels. She defies an amorous and watchful French uncle, a sexton, to assist in the Frenchman's escape from the church vault where she hid him. Romance follows. Straightforward. (PB).

Romance set around the time of the US Civil War - in the early 1860s. Letters misdirected at the outbreak of the war separate childhood lovers until their misunderstanding is removed. A rival suitor's surrender of a letter as he dies at the battle of Drury's Bluff, and its ultimate delivery to its author show how the letters were mixed up. Light, despite the war-time setting. (PB)

Tale of a girl's step towards maturity. Disappointed that her suitor cannot attend a ball with her because of a telegram from his sick mother, she almost quarrels with him. When her mother dies she feels her own selfishness ... Slight; overdrawn. (PB)

Dramatised account of the resignation of a Melbourne post office clerk in the suburb of Auburn for suspicion of theft in 1886; his successful gold mining in North Queensland; and his purchase of silver mines in the Great Barrier Ranges and thus the foundation of the BHP mine. The discovery of the goods thought stolen (in 1889) allowed the man, Richard Price, to return in triumph to Toorak, Melbourne and marry the girl who always believed in him. Adventures of the silver king Richard Price. Well-written basic tale. (PB)

Tale of romance, murder and revenge set in rural Victoria. A squatter's son rescues a young woman from a rough kidnapper and is threatened with a terrible revenge. The youth falls in love with her but before they are married finds himself falsely accused, tried and imprisoned for a murder he did not commit. Only his fiancee's loyalty and a good detective set him free and reveal the vengeful plot of the murderers. Mixed achievement; pace and plot uneven though well-conceived. Piety included in this tale of 'dark days'. (PB)

Brief tale of a Paris robber who is released from court after pleading that he could not read. He only prsented a threatening note to a gentleman that it might be read to him, not to demand his valuables or his life. Cafe narrative. (PB)

Aerial engagement of balloons in the Franco-Prussian war. Monsieur Gustave Nader fends off two marauding Prussian balloons flying the French colours and safely lands in Paris with the daily despatches from Tours. Dramatised factual incident. (PB)