Cirrus@Austlit

To Be Continued... is a 'collection of fiction enables important new insights into the development of Australian literary, publishing and reading culture, including what early Australians were reading, where it came from, and how it was published and understood.'

Source: To be continued... website.

'Two and a half decades ago in this journal Elizabeth Morrison made an impassioned and persuasive case for creating an index to serial fiction in Australian (or Australasian) newspapers...'

Carol Hetherington investigates the inclusion of Australian authors in Doubleday's Crime Club lists in the period 1943-1954. She argues 'that the important common factor in their selection by Doubleday was not that they were Australian writers, but rather that they were mystery writers, and that their commercial success resulted from their acceptance into the mystery 'freemasonary' - a close-knit fraternity of editors, reviewers, publishing firms and mail-order mystery book clubs - in which the Doubleday Crime Club was the pre-eminent player.' (31)

'Numerous commentators have noted affinities between Australia and America. These observations differ in tone and focus but they are all strongly indicative of a perceived connection between two countries in the 'new' world, former colonies of an imperial power. They are suggestive of literary connections that have never been fully documented or analysed. Studies of links between Australia and England exist, pitched at both the academic and the general audience. But apart from several articles by Laurie Hergenhan, and his 1995 biography of Clinton Hartley Grattan, Australian and American literary connections have been, until recently, largely unexplored.

The first large-scale, systematic examination of the area is currently in progress through David Carter's 2006 ARC-funded research project 'America Publishes Australia: Australian Books and American Publishers, 1890-2005'. If there is a commonality to be found in the history of publishing and reception of Australian literature in America it should emerge from David Carter's study, but I suspect that there will also be evidence of a significant number of unique situations and circumstances which defy generalisation. In this paper I will examine some individual cases of Americans whose connections with Australian literary culture have been of significant and lasting importance, in particular Clinton Hartley Grattan and William Warder Norton' (Author's abstract).

Upfield published thirty-four novels, twenty-nine of them in a crime fiction series featuring the Aboriginal detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte. His books were widely read in Australia but his financial success came principally through the publication of his work in the United States and Europe, establishing a world-wide reputation through translations into at least fifteen languages. Upfield's following overseas, particularly in America, continued to grow after his death, reaching almost cult proportions and spawning websites, newsletters and new publications as recently as this year (2008). Upfield's mysteries have commonly been categorised as 'cultural tourism', depending for their appeal on an exotic setting and sensational events. This paper contests such a view and examines Upfield's publication, reception and reputation overseas - compared to his comparative neglect in Australia - including issues of cultural translation, the nature of his readership, his relationship with his American editor and publisher, his German translator and the legacy preserved by his fans.

Carol Hetherington canvasses aspects of the debate surrounding the 'paradigm of nation' over the period from the late twentieth to the early twenty-first centuries. In the context of the development of AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature, Hetherington says: 'It seems abundantly clear that while "National constructs are regarded with suspicion" (Nicholas Jose, 'A Shelf of Our Own: Creative Writing and Australian Literature.' Australian Book Review 276 (Nov.) 2005: 27), the tension between maintaining a national focus, and at the same time exploring its boundaries and intersections with other spaces, is likely to provide fruitful discussion.'

Hetherington explores grounds for author inclusion in E. Morris Miller's Australian Literature from Its Beginnings to 1938 (and its 1956 revision) and compares these with later definitions of 'Australian'. Factors considered include place of birth or education; status as visitor, resident or expatriate; and adoption of citizenship.

A case study is provided of sisters Constance Little and Gwenyth Little (qq.v.) to illustrate the challenges involved in assigning nationality.

P.R. Stephensen observed that: 'Americans are interested in us' and instances of this interest on the part of writers, readers and publishers abound, stretching as far back as the nineteenth century, but little attention has been paid to it and a London-centric view of Australian literary production has prevailed. Laurie Hergenhan, in 1995, referred to 'an area that has been little studied - American editions of Australian works' which he noted 'were more extensive than has been realised.'

A particular example of Stephensen's 'real kinship' is to be found in W.W. Norton's relationship with Australian authors - Henry Handel Richardson, the Palmers, and Katharine Susannah Prichard. Norton visited Australia and later established personal relationships with the Palmers and, through them, with Prichard. His edition of Haxby's Circus restored the novel's original title Fay's Circus and re-instated some of the material reluctantly cut by Prichard from the 1930 English edition. This paper explores the relationship between Norton and Prichard and dicusses the American edition of one of Prichard's most highly regarded novels.