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y separately published work icon The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction anthology   short story   extract   horror   mystery   science fiction   historical fiction   children's  
Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'This anthology collects the best examples of Australian gothic short stories from colonial times. Demonic bird cries, grisly corpses, ghostly women and psychotic station-owners populate a colonial landscape which is the stuff of nightmares.

'In stories by Marcus Clarke, Mary Fortune and Henry Lawson, the colonial homestead is wracked by haunted images of murder and revenge. Settlers are disoriented and traumatised as they stumble into forbidden places and explorers disappear, only to return as ghostly figures with terrible tales to tell. These compelling stories are the dark underside to the usual story of colonial progress, promise and nation-building, and reveal just how vivid the gothic imagination is at the heart of Australian fiction.' (Publication summary)

Contents

* Contents derived from the Carlton, Parkville - Carlton area, Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,:Melbourne University Press , 2007 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Fisher's Ghost The Ghost upon the Rail, John Lang , single work short story crime
The tale of Fisher's Ghost's originally from John Lang's Botany Bay, or, True Stories of the Early Days of Australia . Penrith, NSW, was the scene of Edward Smith's murder of his neighbouring farmer John Fisher, both of them ex-convicts. Smith's plan is foiled by suspicions aroused by Fisher's apparition, the skills of a black tracker, and the sagacious magistrate, Mr Cox. Smith is hanged. (PB)
 (p. 11-30)
Mystery and Murder, James Skipp Borlase , Mary Fortune , single work short story crime
A ghostly murder tale. (PB)
 (p. 31-44)
The Mystery of Major Molineux, Marcus Clarke , single work novella mystery horror
'The Mystery of Major Molineux is a strange and weird production, evidently founded on a fact connected with the early history of Tasmania. As a psychological study it approaches in subtlety to some of the most successful efforts of the author of Adam Bede; while for intensity of sustained interest and soul-thrilling excitement it is only surpassed by Edgar Allen Poe in The Mystery of Marie Roget and The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

That the story is based upon fact does not detract from its interest, but rather lends an air of vraisemblance to a story which would otherwise be too appalling. It is an introspective study, a psychological romance, a social drama - worthy of the author of His Natural Life.'

[Source: Burra Record 22 June 1881, p.2]

 (p. 45-86)
Monsieur Caloche, Tasma , single work short story satire (p. 87-104)
A Haunt of the Jinkarras : A Fearsome Story of Central Australia, Ernest Favenc , single work short story adventure science fiction

'A Haunt of Jinkarras deals with the discovery of a primordial race that dwells entirely underground.' 

Source: L.W. Currey, Inc. https://www.lwcurrey.com/pages/books/167311/ernest-favenc/the-last-of-six-tales-of-the-austral-tropics 

 (p. 105-112)
Doomed, Ernest Favenc , single work short story (p. 113-116)
The Bunyip, Rosa Praed , single work short story (p. 117-126)
The Hut by the Tanks Johnnie Holme, Francis Adams , single work short story (p. 127-138)
The Bush Undertaker, Henry Lawson , single work short story
An old shepherd discovers his mate, Brummy, dead and mummified in the bush. Saddened, he feels compelled to bury him.
 (p. 139-146)
Overseer Franke's Pegging-Out, 'Price Warung' , single work short story historical fiction (p. 147-172)
The Haunted Station, Hume Nisbet , single work short story horror mystery (p. 173-192)
With Three Phantoms, Guy Boothby , single work short story
An explorer arrives in Darwin to look for traces of Leichhardt's expedition. His party are found dead months later on the edge of the Simpson Desert. Four years later the explorer is discovered and tells of an improbable story about ghost horsemen.
 (p. 193-202)
The Evil of Yelcomorn Creek The Mystery of Yelcomorn Creek, William Sylvester Walker , single work short story
A strange old man tucked away in the bush tells an interesting tale of his opal-mining days in Queensland.
 (p. 203-214)
Note: With title: 'The Evil of Yelcomorn Creek'
A Dreamer, Barbara Baynton , single work short story (p. 215-222)
Vermisst The Lost White Woman, Mary Gaunt , single work short story (p. 223-230)
Note: With title: The Lost White Woman.
An Australian Rip Van Winkle, William Gosse Hay , single work short story (p. 231-260)
The Curse, Katharine Susannah Prichard , single work short story (p. 261-264)
VIEW ENTIRE CONTENTS ( works)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Other Formats

  • Sound recording.
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Works about this Work

The Field : Reviews Colin Steele , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , June no. 81 2011; (p. 61)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract
Terror Australis Incognita? : An Introduction to Fear in Australian Literature and Film Nathanael O'Reilly , Jean-François Vernay , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 23 no. 1 2009; (p. 5-9) 'Since feelings are one of the prevalent subject matters of literature, it is no wonder that fear has affected and infected many Australian literary texts, all the more after the pervasive sense of danger and insecurity generated in a post 9/11 anxiety-provoking context.'
Australian Gothic Andrew McCann , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 21 no. 2 2007; (p. 194-196)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract
Goths and Vandals Lucy Sussex , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Summer no. 189 2007; (p. 80-81)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract ; The Ghost Writer John Harwood , 2004 single work novel ; Red Spikes Margo Lanagan , 2006 selected work short story
Who the Hell Are We Martin Crotty , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 6 - 7 October 2007; (p. 18-19)
The Doom and Gloom of True-Blue Goth Lost in Landscape Richard King , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 August 2007; (p. 10-11)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract
The Horror Lurking in Our Wide, Brown Land Lorien Kaye , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 4 August 2007; (p. 22)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract
Pick of the Week Kerryn Goldsworthy , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 18-19 August 2007; (p. 34)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract
Goths and Vandals Lucy Sussex , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Summer no. 189 2007; (p. 80-81)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract ; The Ghost Writer John Harwood , 2004 single work novel ; Red Spikes Margo Lanagan , 2006 selected work short story
Australian Gothic Andrew McCann , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 21 no. 2 2007; (p. 194-196)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract
Who the Hell Are We Martin Crotty , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 6 - 7 October 2007; (p. 18-19)
Terror Australis Incognita? : An Introduction to Fear in Australian Literature and Film Nathanael O'Reilly , Jean-François Vernay , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 23 no. 1 2009; (p. 5-9) 'Since feelings are one of the prevalent subject matters of literature, it is no wonder that fear has affected and infected many Australian literary texts, all the more after the pervasive sense of danger and insecurity generated in a post 9/11 anxiety-provoking context.'
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (9)
Last amended 5 Jun 2020 13:03:25
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