AustLit logo

AustLit

image of person or book cover 8360335156572932301.jpg
This image has been sourced from online.
y separately published work icon While the Billy Boils selected work   short story  
  • Author:agent Henry Lawson http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/lawson-henry
Issue Details: First known date: 1896... 1896 While the Billy Boils
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Exhibitions

18005765
18005672
VIEW ALL EXHIBITIONS

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon While the Billy Boils Beaumont Smith , ( dir. Beaumont Smith ) Australia : Beaumont Smith's Productions , 1921 7836703 1921 single work film/TV

'The camp-fire in the prologue showed the two mates yarning over their evening meal, when the story was forthcoming that immediately was filmed. Tom Wall, on the death of his wife, strove to do double duty to his young, sons, Jim and Dick, at Murraburra Station; but only a mother could have understood the fineness of Jim's nature. Consequently when the lad was found studying and dreaming amid the lonely beauty of the great gums, Wall quarrelled with him and turned him out. Dick remained on the station and grew up to be a weakling in character, but Jim, who took the name of Bob Brothers, was beloved throughout the country. He returned to the Redclay district and took service on his father's property, with One-Eyed Bogan, one of the finest characters in the story. The little 'pub' at Redclay, owned by the 'Widder' Shiffner, was the scene of many humorous episodes; and when the hands were on their way to the Murraburra roll call there was a stampede for the hotel as 'last man to reach the pub shouts!' A gentler influence was introduced when Ruth, Wall's niece, came to live on the station, and both brothers fell in love with her; but Jim, with characteristic unselfishness, believing that Ruth loved Dick, did not obtrude his own claims. A barmaid arrived at Redclay apparently to take a position at the hotel, but in reality to blackmail Dick. A robbery on the station and one at the bank, provided sufficient sensation, and numerous bouts of fisticuffs, as well as a long chase on horse back, added to the excitement of a story that ended entirely to the satisfaction of the audience.'

Source:

'While the Billy Boils', The Register, 1 November 1921, p.6.

Notes

  • While the Billy Boils was issued numerous times between 1896 and the 1970s in a variety of series and formats including single and multi-volume editions divided into two and three 'Series'. George Mackaness's An Annotated Bibliography of Henry Lawson is a useful guide. Most editions have illustrations by Frank Mahony although this is not always stated.
  • The State Library of New South Wales holds the correction drafts of this title. They are available online here.

Contents

* Contents derived from the Sydney, New South Wales,:Angus and Robertson , 1896 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
An Old Mate of Your Father's, Henry Lawson , single work short story
The narrator remembers how his father would be visited by old mates and how they sit together talking about their days on the Ballarat and Bendigo goldfields.
 (p. 1-6)
Settling on the Land, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour
Lawson gives a graphic, if humorous, account of the hardships faced by settlers and the rivalry between them and squatters.
 (p. 7-14)
Enter Mitchell, Henry Lawson , single work short story
A swagman and his dog get off the train at Redfern station and are accosted by a taxi driver.
 (p. 15-17)
Stiffner and Jim (Thirdly, Bill), Henry Lawson , single work short story humour
Bill and Jim, the narrator, arrive at a pub desperate for a drink, but without any money.
 (p. 18-27)
When the Sun Went Down, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Tom rebuffs his brother Jack's attempt at reconciliation after a quarrel. But when his brother is trapped in a collapsing mineshaft Tom works desperately to save him.
 (p. 28-31)
The Man Who Forgot, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour
A soft-hearted shearer is deceived by a cunning swagman.
 (p. 32-39)
Hungerford, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour

Lawson writes about the remote town of Hungerford, which straddles the N.S.W. and Queensland border. Lawson's story is derived from his visit to Hungerford in January 1893, when he and James Gordon (and possibly Ernest de Guinney) walked there from Torale shearing shed, near Bourke.

 (p. 40-44)
A Camp-Fire Yarn, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour (p. 45-49)
His Country - After All, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Expatriate for fifteen years, a man denigrates Australia throughout a coach-trip in New Zealand, until he encounters the smell and sight of imported blue gum trees.
 (p. 50-56)
A Day on a Selection, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Describes a typical day on a selection in western N. S. W.
 (p. 57-65)
That There Dog O' Mine, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Injured in a drunken brawl, a shearer refuses treatment in a hospital unless his dog, also injured, is allowed to stay as well.
 (p. 66-69)
Going Blind, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Tells the story of a bushman who is losing his sight and his attempts to remain optimistic.
 (p. 70-77)
Arvie Aspinall's Alarm Clock, Henry Lawson , single work short story
A policeman finds a small boy sleeping on the steps outside his workplace. The boy explains he is sleeping there because he is afraid he will sleep in and be late for work.
 (p. 78-82)
Stragglers, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Description of a group of swagmen and travellers camped in the shearers' shed of a remote sheep station on New Year's Eve.
 (p. 83-90)
The Union Buries Its Dead, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour
Describes a bush funeral.
 (p. 91-97)
On the Edge of a Plain, Henry Lawson , single work short story
A swagman arrives home to discover the family in mourning for him, after having been told he is dead.
 (p. 98-100)
In a Dry Season, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Lawson describes the scenes observed as a train traveller to western N.S.W.
 (p. 101-105)
He'd Come Back, Henry Lawson , single work short story
A bushman tells the sorry tale of his marriage.
 (p. 106-109)
Another of Mitchell's Plans for the Future, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Mitchell reveals his plan for obtaining a wife and a farm.
 (p. 110-112)
Steelman, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour
Describes how Steelman would inflict himself on a family and resist all efforts to dislodge him.
 (p. 113-116)
VIEW ENTIRE CONTENTS ( works)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Other Formats

  • Also braille, sound recording, e-book.
  • Large print.
Find library holdings on Trove

Related Works

y separately published work icon While the Billy Boils : The Original Newspaper Versions Henry Lawson , Paul Eggert (editor), Sydney : Sydney University Press , 2013 6155517 2013 selected work short story (taught in 3 units)

'Fifty-two of Henry Lawson's stories and sketches that he had first published in newspapers and magazines from 1888 onwards were gathered in his collection While the Billy Boils (Angus & Robertson, 1896). Lawson was not responsible for their ordering and he had to give ground on their texts, especially on his idiosyncratic presentation of wordings that helped to breathe life into his characters and situations. The present edition dismantles the fait accompli of 1896 by presenting the individual items in the chronological order of their first publication and with their original newspaper texts. This will allow a new appreciation of Lawson's writing, one that is attentive to his developing powers.

'The edition also facilitates a close study of Lawson's collaboration with the producers of the collection in 1896, in particular with his copy-editor Arthur W. Jose and publisher George Robertson. Facsimile images (available online) of the printer's copy that they prepared for While the Billy Boils supplement the edition's listing of the alterations that each of them made, revealing the textual history of each story or sketch.' (Publisher's blurb)
VIEW ALL RELATED WORKS (1)

Works about this Work

Australien Russell McDougall , 2019 single work criticism
— Appears in: Verdenslitteraturer : Introduktion til litteraturen uden for Europa 2019; (p. 253-284)
Books That Changed Me : Warren Fahey Warren Fahey , 2015 single work
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 9 August 2015; (p. 16)
'A Nation for a Continent' : Australian Literature and the Cartographic Imaginary of the Federation Era Robert Dixon , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 28 no. 1 2014; (p. 141-154, 254) 'During the Federation era, the isomorphic association of literature, land, and nation found expression through the cartographic imaginary, a term that is meant to focus especially on the role of maps in shaping imagined geographies, but which also includes related media such as topographical engravings and photographic views. Contrary to Paul Giles's implication of an achieved "national period" in American literary history, however, Dixon argues that in Australia during the Federation era, the cartographic imaginary expressed an alignment of literature, land, and nation that was more wished for than achieved. He claims that the literature of the Federation period-in particular, the sketches and stories of Henry Lawson's While the Billy Boils (1896) and Joseph Furphy's novel Such is Life (1903)–reveals the uncertainties and the sense of incompletion that attend the cartographic imaginary.' (Publication abstract)
y separately published work icon Biography of a Book : Henry Lawson's While the Billy Boils Paul Eggert , University of Sydney University Park : Sydney University Press Pennsylvania State University Press , 2013 Z1939157 2013 single work criticism 'Biography of a Book traces the life of an iconic Australian literary work in the lead-up to, and for a century after, its initial publication: Henry Lawson's 1896 collection While the Billy Boils. Paul Eggert follows Lawson's gradual development of a pared-back bush realism in the early 1890s, as he struggled to forge a career, writing short stories and sketches for the newspapers.

'Lawson's famous collection came out at a decisive moment for the development of a fully professional Australian literary publishing industry, then in its infancy in Sydney. The volume's editing, design and production were collaborative events that changed the feel and nature of Lawson's writing. He had to give ground on his texts and their sequencing.

'The collection went on to be reprinted and repackaged countless times. Its production and reception histories act like a geological cross-section, revealing the contours of successive cultural formations in Australia. In unravelling the life of Lawson's classic work Eggert's book-historical approach challenges and clarifies established understandings of crucial moments in Australian literary history and of Lawson himself.' (From the publisher's website.)
Brought to Book : Bibliography, Book History and the Study of Literature Paul Eggert , 2012 single work
— Appears in: Library: The Transactions of the Bibliographical Society , March vol. 13 no. 1 2012; (p. 3-32)
While the Billy Boils 1896 single work review
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 12 September 1896; (p. 499)
— Review of While the Billy Boils Henry Lawson , 1896 selected work short story
Literature. Literary Notes 1896 single work review criticism
— Appears in: The Sydney Mail , 7 November vol. 62 no. 1896 1896; (p. 982)
— Review of The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses A. B. Paterson , 1895 selected work poetry ; While the Billy Boils Henry Lawson , 1896 selected work short story ; In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses Henry Lawson , 1896 selected work poetry
Untitled 1896 single work review
— Appears in: The North Queensland Register , 30 September 1896; (p. 20)
— Review of While the Billy Boils Henry Lawson , 1896 selected work short story
Publications Received 1903 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian Printer, Stationer, and Bookseller , 21 December vol. 1 no. 1 1903; (p. 30-31)
— Review of In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses Henry Lawson , 1896 selected work poetry ; While the Billy Boils Henry Lawson , 1896 selected work short story ; Rio Grande's Last Race and Other Verses A. B. Paterson , 1902 selected work poetry
Scribblers and Screed 1896 single work review
— Appears in: The Free-Lance , 3 October vol. 1 no. 24 1896; (p. 12)
— Review of The Clairaudient : A Story of Psychical Research C. Ernest Robin , 1896 single work novel ; While the Billy Boils Henry Lawson , 1896 selected work short story
Escaping the Bush Paradigm Lucy Frost , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Imagining Australia : Literature and Culture in the New New World 2004; (p. 53-65)
The Ironies in Lawson's Campfire Michael Uniacke , 2006 single work biography
— Appears in: Coppertales : A Journal of Rural Arts , no. 10 2006; (p. 74-78) Discusses Henry Lawson's deafness and how it impacted on his writing.
Henry Lawson and George Robertson : A Note on Their Association Colin Roderick , 1968 single work essay
— Appears in: North , no. 6 1968; (p. 18-23)
Riding on the 'Uncurl'd Clouds' : The Intersections of History and Fiction Brian Matthews , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Cambridge History of Australian Literature 2009; (p. 344-359) '...the intersection of history and fiction, of works of record and works of the imagination, has been going on for a long time in the Australian creative culture.' (346)
Manuscript of While the Billy Boils, 1896 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: ONE Hundred : A Tribute to the Mitchell Library 2010; (p. 72-73)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (37)
Last amended 13 Feb 2020 11:45:42
Common subjects:
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X