Bessie Marchant (International) assertion Bessie Marchant i(A55998 works by) (birth name: Elizabeth Marchant)
Also writes as: Mrs J. A. Comfort ; John Comfort
Born: Established: 12 Dec 1862 Petham, Kent,
c
England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
c
Western Europe, Europe, ; Died: Ceased: 10 Nov 1941 Charlbury, Oxfordshire,
c
England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
c
Western Europe, Europe,
Gender: Female
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.

Works By

Preview all
1 y separately published work icon Waifs of Woollamoo : A Story for Girls Bessie Marchant , London : Frederick Warne , 1938 Z849501 1938 single work children's fiction children's
1 y separately published work icon Toby's Luck John Comfort , London New York (City) : Sheldon Press Macmillan , 1922 Z894534 1922 single work children's fiction children's
1 y separately published work icon The Adventurous Seven : Their Hazardous Undertaking Bessie Marchant , London : Blackie , 1914 Z1247874 1914 single work children's fiction children's
1 y separately published work icon The Ferry House Girls : an Australian story Bessie Marchant , London : Blackie , 1912 Z1247951 1912 single work children's fiction children's
1 y separately published work icon The Black Cockatoo : A Story of Western Australia Bessie Marchant , London : Religious Tract Society , 1910 Z844345 1910 single work novel young adult
1 y separately published work icon The Apple Lady Bessie Marchant , London : Collins , 1908 Z1247990 1908 single work children's fiction children's In The Apple Lady, two characters make an overland journey from Port Davey to the slopes of Mount Picton. In reality, such a trek through rugged Southwest Tasmania takes several days. Marchant's protagonists, however, accomplish the walk in a few hours, before spending the night at the town of Craycroft. This supposed settlement provides a useful clue to Marchant's source material. Maps of Tasmania published in Walch's Almanac, accessible to the author through the Bodleian, where Marchant did her research, do not distinguish between established towns and proposed (or gazetted) settlements. One of these 'phantom towns' is Craycroft. The Almanac map also contains limited topographical details, perhaps leading Marchant to suppose that the Southwest Wilderness presented an easy challenge for walkers.
1 y separately published work icon A Brave Little Cousin Bessie Marchant , London : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge , 1902 Z1248003 1902 single work children's fiction children's
1 y separately published work icon The Bessie Marchant Omnibus Book Bessie Marchant , London : Blackie , 1900-1999 Z1248036 1900-1999 selected work children's fiction children's
1 y separately published work icon Sally Makes Good : A Story of Tasmania Bessie Marchant , London : Blackie , 1920 Z1247957 1900-1999 single work children's fiction children's Shortly after the First World War, as a reward for his military services, a retired army officer moves his family from England to a farm in remote north-western Tasmania. Sally's adventures begin when the family acquires an extra 'guest' in the form of an abandoned baby following their arrival by steamer at Burnie. While searching for the child's mother Sally makes some surprising discoveries - not the least being a fearsome encounter with a band of rogues from the West Coast; the descendants of escaped convicts and aborigines. Teenage protagonist Sally and her siblings outwit the bandits before Sally finds true love with a simple farm-boy who turns out to possess a far more impressive pedigree than his appearance first suggests. England might be far away, but English class distinctions remain important. Although ultimately wooed into domesticity by dashing males, Marchant's female characters display relative degrees of fortitude, initiative and independence; the wartime services of Sally's older sisters are described at some length. As in The Apple Lady, the author's eclectic eye for source material is again evident in this novel; for example, the family property is located near the Campbell Range in 'the County of Wellington' - both geographic features prominent on contemporary maps accessible to Marchant.
X