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Colonial Australian Fiction : Character Types, Social Formations and the Colonial Economy
multi chapter work
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Over the course of the nineteenth century a remarkable array of types appeared – and disappeared – in Australian literature: the swagman, the larrikin, the colonial detective, the bushranger, the “currency lass”, the squatter, and more. Some had a powerful influence on the colonies’ developing sense of identity; others were more ephemeral. But all had a role to play in shaping and reflecting the social and economic circumstances of life in the colonies.
'In Colonial Australian Fiction: Character Types, Social Formations and the Colonial Economy, Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver explore the genres in which these characters flourished: the squatter novel, the bushranger adventure, colonial detective stories, the swagman’s yarn, the Australian girl’s romance. Authors as diverse as Catherine Helen Spence, Rosa Praed, Henry Kingsley, Anthony Trollope, Henry Lawson, Miles Franklin, Barbara Baynton, Rolf Boldrewood, Mary Fortune and Marcus Clarke were fascinated by colonial character types, and brought them vibrantly to life.
'As this book shows, colonial Australian character types are fluid, contradictory and often unpredictable. When we look closely, they have the potential to challenge our assumptions about fiction, genre and national identity.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Notes
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Table of contents:
Introduction: The Colonial Economy and the Production of Colonial Character Types
1. The Reign of the Squatter
2. Bushrangers
3. Colonial Australian Detectives
4. Bush Types and Metropolitan Types
5. The Australian Girl
Works Cited
Index
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver, Colonial Australian Fiction : Character Types, Social Formations and the Colonial Economy
2018
single work
review
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 3 no. 18 2018;'Colonial Australian Fiction: Character Types, Social Formations and the Colonial Economy (2017), by Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver, is published within the Sydney University Press’ Sydney Studies in Australian Literature series, which aims to reinvigorate the study of Australian literature both locally and internationally. Gelder and Weaver combine their expertise in Australian literary studies to produce a rich study of character types in colonial Australian fiction, including how these types evolve and mutate over time and reveal what was taking place in colonial Australian society, especially in terms of structures of power, influence, and the economic landscape. This book adds to Gelder and Weaver’s already significant contribution to reviving interest in the rich archive of colonial Australian fiction and what it reveals about Australia’s history and continually evolving sense of national and cultural identity.' (Publication abstract)
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Review of Colonial Australian Fiction: Character Types, Social Formations and the Colonial Economy, by Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , February vol. 33 no. 1 2018;
— Review of Colonial Australian Fiction : Character Types, Social Formations and the Colonial Economy 2017 multi chapter work criticism'Over the past decade, Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver have been researching nineteenth-century Australian popular fiction with the aid of a succession of research grants. Associated publications have included a series of genre-based anthologies of gothic, romance, adventure and crime stories, as well as a selection of extracts from the local journals in which many of these stories were first published. While these books included introductions by Gelder and Weaver, Colonial Australian Fiction is their most sustained account of the field.' (Introduction)
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Squatters, Bushrangers, Larrikins and the Rest …
2017
single work
essay
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 5 August 2017; (p. 18)'What scientists do with genus and species, Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver have done with 19th-century Australian fiction: isolating character types and exploring the genres in which they flourished. The squatter novel, the bushranger adventure, the larrikin tale, the Australian girl’s romance and, unexpectedly, at least for me, the colonial detective story.' (Introduction)
-
Review of Colonial Australian Fiction: Character Types, Social Formations and the Colonial Economy, by Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , February vol. 33 no. 1 2018;
— Review of Colonial Australian Fiction : Character Types, Social Formations and the Colonial Economy 2017 multi chapter work criticism'Over the past decade, Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver have been researching nineteenth-century Australian popular fiction with the aid of a succession of research grants. Associated publications have included a series of genre-based anthologies of gothic, romance, adventure and crime stories, as well as a selection of extracts from the local journals in which many of these stories were first published. While these books included introductions by Gelder and Weaver, Colonial Australian Fiction is their most sustained account of the field.' (Introduction)
-
Squatters, Bushrangers, Larrikins and the Rest …
2017
single work
essay
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 5 August 2017; (p. 18)'What scientists do with genus and species, Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver have done with 19th-century Australian fiction: isolating character types and exploring the genres in which they flourished. The squatter novel, the bushranger adventure, the larrikin tale, the Australian girl’s romance and, unexpectedly, at least for me, the colonial detective story.' (Introduction)
-
Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver, Colonial Australian Fiction : Character Types, Social Formations and the Colonial Economy
2018
single work
review
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 3 no. 18 2018;'Colonial Australian Fiction: Character Types, Social Formations and the Colonial Economy (2017), by Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver, is published within the Sydney University Press’ Sydney Studies in Australian Literature series, which aims to reinvigorate the study of Australian literature both locally and internationally. Gelder and Weaver combine their expertise in Australian literary studies to produce a rich study of character types in colonial Australian fiction, including how these types evolve and mutate over time and reveal what was taking place in colonial Australian society, especially in terms of structures of power, influence, and the economic landscape. This book adds to Gelder and Weaver’s already significant contribution to reviving interest in the rich archive of colonial Australian fiction and what it reveals about Australia’s history and continually evolving sense of national and cultural identity.' (Publication abstract)
Awards
- 2019 longlisted ASAL Awards — Walter McRae Russell Award
