B. L. Farjeon arrived in Victoria in 1854 and spent seven years on the goldfields, before moving to New Zealand. He returned to England in 1867. In addition to the works listed which draw, at least in part, upon his Australian and New Zealand experiences, Farjeon published many other novels, some of which have slight Australian reference, for example The
Tragedy of Featherstone (1886), Devlin the Barber (1888) and For the Defence (1891). Many of his 'English' novels were published in serialised format by Australian newspapers such as the Queenslander, the North Queensland Herald, the Australian Town and Country Journal and the Sydney Mail.
Farjeon was the father of composer Herbert Farjeon and the writers Eleanor Farjeon and J. Jefferson Farjeon.