y separately published work icon The Penguin Best Australian Short Stories anthology   short story   extract   humour   satire   crime   historical fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 1991... 1991 The Penguin Best Australian Short Stories
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.

Contents

* Contents derived from the Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,:Penguin , 1991 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. 23-43)
The Dead Witness; or, The Bush Waterhole, James Skipp Borlase , Mary Fortune , single work short story crime (p. 45-59)
Note: Attributed by Mary Lord to Mary Fortune.
Pretty Dick, Marcus Clarke , single work short story
Story of the seven-year-old shepherd's son who gets lost in the bush and dies.
 (p. 61-75)
Monsieur Caloche, Tasma , single work short story satire
A Frenchman seeks work and ends up at a cattle station, where he has trouble settling into his new role. 
 (p. 77-95)
The Golden Shanty A Profitable Pub, E. G. D. , single work short story humour (p. 97-109)
Note: With title: A Golden Shanty
Parson Ford's Confessional, 'Price Warung' , single work short story historical fiction (p. 111-124)
Far Inland Football, John Arthur Barry , single work short story humour (p. 125-131)
Dad und die Donovans Dad and the Two Donovans, 'Steele Rudd' , single work short story (p. 133-138)
Brighten's Sister-in-Law, Henry Lawson , single work short story (p. 139-160)
Billy Skywonkie, Barbara Baynton , single work short story (p. 161-174)
The Curse, Katharine Susannah Prichard , single work short story
A menacing weed known as "the curse" begins to take over the hut of the strange and isolated Alf. 
 (p. 175-178)
Conversation in a Pantry, Henry Handel Richardson , single work short story (p. 179-185)
First Prize, Marjorie Barnard , single work short story (p. 187-193)
Note: As 'The Lottery'.
Miss Slattery and Her Demon Lover, Patrick White , single work short story humour satire (p. 195-211)
Party Forty-Two and Mrs Brewer Party 42 and Mrs Brewer, Hal Porter , single work short story satire (p. 213-226)
The Children, John Morrison , single work short story (p. 227-231)
Street Idyll, Christina Stead , single work short story (p. 233-237)
The Words She Types, Michael Wilding , single work short story (p. 239-241)
A Gentleman's Agreement, Elizabeth Jolley , single work short story (p. 243-248)
The Last Days of a Famous Mime, Peter Carey , single work short story (p. 249-253)
X