AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Contents
-
The Drover's Wife,
single work
short story
First appearing in The Bulletin in 1892, Henry Lawson's short story 'The Drovers Wife' is today regarded as a seminal work in the Australian literary tradition. Noted for it's depiction of the bush as harsh, potentially threatening and both isolated and isolating, the story opens with a simple enough premise: an aggressive--and presumably deadly--snake disrupts the working life of a bushwoman and her young children. Brave but cautious, the woman resolves to protect her children since her husband is, characteristically, away from home and of no help.
As time passes within the story, tension builds, and the snake's symbolic threat takes on layers of meaning as the sleepless heroine recalls previous challenges she faced while her husband was away. A series of flashbacks and recollections propel the story through the single night over which it takes place, and by the time the climax arrives--the confrontation with the snake--readers have learned much about the heroine's strengths and fears, most of the latter involving the loss of children and dark figures who encroach upon her small, vulnerable homestead. To be sure, this "darkness" is highly symbolic, and Lawson's use of imagery invokes Western notions of good and evil as well as gendered and racial stereotypes.
-
The Tramp
Erwählt
The Chosen Vessel,
single work
short story
Following a similar thread to Henry Lawson's "The Drover's Wife" (and many believe, a direct response to it), "The Chosen Vessel" follows a young mother left alone in her outback hut who becomes growingly concerned for her own safety following the arrival of a menacing swagmen. The story also follows for a short time a man riding in to town to place his vote and his struggles with religious guilt.
-
The Loaded Dog,
single work
short story
humour
Dave and Andy create a bomb to blast fish out of the waterhole. However their dog picks the bomb up and begins a deadly, yet hilarious, game of 'fetch'.
- From The Tree of Man, extract short story
- The Night We Watched for Wallabies, single work short story humour
- A Gentleman's Agreement, single work short story
-
A Northern Belle,
single work
short story
A young girl's spirited attitude to life seems to contrast that of her conservative mother's. However, many years later, to her chagrin and regret, she finds her long-dead mother's influence asserting itself.
-
The Cooboo,
single work
short story
Set on the wide plains of the Murndoo station, 'The Cooboo' is the story of Rose, a Wongana woman, mother, and stockwoman.
- From Dr. Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World, extract short story
- Going Home, single work short story
- From Wanamurraganya : The Story of Jack McPhee, single work short story
- Breaking a Man's Spirit, extract
- Absalom Day's Promotion, single work short story
- The First Days, extract autobiography
- In the Trenches, single work short story
- From The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea, single work short story
- al-Khaṭṭ al-ḥadīdī Kāyūjil. The Kyogle Line, single work prose
- American Dreams, single work short story
- Willy-Wagtails by Moonlight, single work short story
- A Good Marriage, single work short story
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Untitled
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: World Literature Today , Summer vol. 67 no. 3 1993; (p. 665-666)
— Review of Australian Literature : An Anthology of Writing from the Land Down Under 1993 anthology short story criticism extract biography -
An Anthology that Teaches and Delights
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 7 no. 1 1993; (p. 81)
— Review of Australian Literature : An Anthology of Writing from the Land Down Under 1993 anthology short story criticism extract biography
-
An Anthology that Teaches and Delights
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 7 no. 1 1993; (p. 81)
— Review of Australian Literature : An Anthology of Writing from the Land Down Under 1993 anthology short story criticism extract biography -
Untitled
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: World Literature Today , Summer vol. 67 no. 3 1993; (p. 665-666)
— Review of Australian Literature : An Anthology of Writing from the Land Down Under 1993 anthology short story criticism extract biography