Human Repetends single work   short story   crime   fantasy  
Alternative title: A Mysterious Coincidence
Issue Details: First known date: 1872... 1872 Human Repetends
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

This story was first published in the Australasian, 14 September, 1872, with the title 'Human Repetends'. This version of the story, which includes a character called Marston, has been republished several times in anthologies and selections. A second version of the story, with a different beginning and featuring a character called Hylton, was first published in the posthumous selection Sensational Tales with the title 'A Mysterious Coincidence'. This version has been republished under both titles.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Australasian vol. 13 no. 337 14 September 1872 Z1220819 1872 newspaper issue 1872 pg. 326
    Note:

    With title: "Noah's Ark".
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Austral Edition of the Selected Works of Marcus Clarke : Together with a Biography and Monograph of the Deceased Author Hamilton Mackinnon , Hamilton Mackinnon (editor), Melbourne : Fergusson & Mitchell , 1890 Z914121 1890 selected work Melbourne : Fergusson & Mitchell , 1890 pg. 402-410
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Australian Science Fiction Van Ikin (editor), St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 1982 Z138801 1982 anthology criticism extract short story poetry St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 1982 pg. 28-37
    Note: With title: 'Human Repetends'
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Oxford Book of Australian Ghost Stories Ken Gelder (editor), Melbourne : Oxford University Press , 1994 Z356827 1994 anthology short story crime young adult 'Did Australian ghosts suffer from a cultural cringe? Dr Ken Gelder indicates in the introduction to another fascinating OUP anthology that early ghost stories were essentially a "transported genre" that looked back to England as their source. Thus John Lang's well-known story "The Ghost upon the Rail" is based upon a case of murder for post-convict wealth. Gelder argues that Australian ghost stories possess their own ironical flavour, but the gothic tradition has to be resolved in outback locations or deserted mining towns, as in David Rowbotham's "A Schoolie and the Ghost".'

    'Gelder relies heavily on Victorian and Edwardian writers, such as Marcus Clarke, Barbara Baynton and Hume Nisbet, as if unsure as to the nature of contemporary ghosts. It is interesting to see that Australia's science fiction writers, such as Lucy Sussex and Terry Dowling, provide the link between the past and the present. Dowling's "The Daeman Street Ghost-Trap" effectively uses traditional settings to link ghosts with a current horror, namely cancer. Several bunyip stories remind us of a particular Antipodean creature to stand against the assorted European manifestations.'

    (Colin Steele, SF Commentary No 77, p.55).


         Melbourne : Oxford University Press , 1994     pg. 63-71
    Note: With title: 'Human Repetends'
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Oxford Book of Australian Short Stories Michael Wilding (editor), South Melbourne : Oxford University Press , 1994 Z92140 1994 anthology short story criticism extract poetry crime humour South Melbourne : Oxford University Press , 1994 pg. 1-9
    Note: With title: 'Human Repetends'
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Devil Dolls and Duplicates in Australian Horror Anthony Ferguson (editor), Mandurah : Equilibrium Books , 2011 Z1776099 2011 anthology short story horror Mandurah : Equilibrium Books , 2011 pg. 11-20
    Note: With title: 'Human Repetends'
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Mystery of Major Molineux / Human Repetends Marcus Clarke , Melbourne : Cameron, Laing , 1881 Z460138 1881 selected work short story novella

    '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 resemblance 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]

         Melbourne : Cameron, Laing , 1881     pg. 67-83
    Note: With title: 'Human Repetends'
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Sensational Tales Marcus Clarke , Melbourne : McCarron, Bird , 1886 Z814019 1886 single work Hobart : J. Walch , 1886 pg. 80-91
    Note: With title: A Mysterious Coincidence
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Marcus Clarke : Stories Michael Wilding (editor), Marcus Clarke , Sydney : Hale and Iremonger , 1983 Z521440 1983 selected work short story prose Sydney : Hale and Iremonger , 1983 pg. 202-210
    Note: With title: A Mysterious Coincidence
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon My Country : Australian Poetry and Short Stories, Two Hundred Years Leonie Kramer (editor), Sydney : Lansdowne , 1985 Z219820 1985 anthology poetry short story Sydney : Lansdowne , 1985 pg. 150-158
    Note: With title: A Mysterious Coincidence
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Australian Short Story Before Lawson Cecil Hadgraft (editor), Melbourne : Oxford University Press , 1986 Z397319 1986 anthology short story Melbourne : Oxford University Press , 1986 pg. 144-153
    Note: With title: 'Human Repetends'
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Penguin Book of 19th Century Australian Literature Michael Ackland (editor), Ringwood : Penguin , 1993 Z203182 1993 anthology short story poetry extract prose criticism biography humour satire crime Ringwood : Penguin , 1993 pg. 317-326
    Note: With title: 'Human Repetends'
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()
Last amended 29 Aug 2022 16:19:58
Subjects:
Settings:
  • Melbourne City, Melbourne, Victoria,
  • Melbourne, Victoria,
  • 1860s
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