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'Set in the late 18th century, it's the story of William Buckley (a real person, the dust jacket informs us), an English villager who, having performed in a reenactment of an ancient fertility ritual, is arrested, charged with "lewdness and Popery," and transported to a prison camp in "New Holland" (Australia). After escaping, Buckley is taken in by a tribe of Aborigines (who call themselves "the People") and soon thereafter comes to be revered as their hero-god Murrangurk, whose appearance was long ago foretold in the prophetic creation ritual they call "the Dreaming" (at which skill the transformed Buckley proves almost preternaturally adept). Eventually spotted by white colonialists, Buckley/Murrangurk/Strandloper (this last term denoting a further incarnation) is employed as a translator and given a "King's Pardon," then returns to his Cheshire home for the mixed blessing of a hesitant reunion with the woman he formerly loved, who may have borne his child. All of this is related in a crabbed, terse prose compounded of rustic British slang, Miltonic verse, folk songs and nursery rhymes, and the ornate language of both Church of England rituals and the Latin Mass.'
Source: Kirkus Reviews. (Sighted: 5/8/2015)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Literary Stiles and Symbolic Culture : Returning to the Problem of Writing
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 4 no. 2 2014; 'In an attempt to uncover all the drivers that construct a society that is inherently anti-ecological Jones, in this chapter of his doctoral thesis, Walking for food: regaining permapoesis, turns the lens onto writing itself and offers up a provocation: Does writing erode ecological intelligence? We know or believe writing constructs civil intelligence, that is intelligence required for growing cities and other anthropocentric environments, but does it aid or hinder the development of ecological society? The chapter takes the form of a letter written to writer and environmentalist Maya Ward. Maya's reply can be read as part of Jones' full thesis, available through the UWS library and online databases.' (Publication summary) -
Mislaid Books of the Sea : Strandloper
2014
single work
essay
— Appears in: Great Ocean Quarterly , vol. 1 no. 4 2014; (p. 10-17) -
Buckley's Story
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 184 1996; (p. 34)
— Review of Strandloper 1996 single work novel -
The Nowhere Man
1996
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15 June 1996; (p. 13s)
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Buckley's Story
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 184 1996; (p. 34)
— Review of Strandloper 1996 single work novel -
The Nowhere Man
1996
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15 June 1996; (p. 13s) -
Mislaid Books of the Sea : Strandloper
2014
single work
essay
— Appears in: Great Ocean Quarterly , vol. 1 no. 4 2014; (p. 10-17) -
Literary Stiles and Symbolic Culture : Returning to the Problem of Writing
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 4 no. 2 2014; 'In an attempt to uncover all the drivers that construct a society that is inherently anti-ecological Jones, in this chapter of his doctoral thesis, Walking for food: regaining permapoesis, turns the lens onto writing itself and offers up a provocation: Does writing erode ecological intelligence? We know or believe writing constructs civil intelligence, that is intelligence required for growing cities and other anthropocentric environments, but does it aid or hinder the development of ecological society? The chapter takes the form of a letter written to writer and environmentalist Maya Ward. Maya's reply can be read as part of Jones' full thesis, available through the UWS library and online databases.' (Publication summary)
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cAustralia,c
- 1800-1899