Issue Details: First known date: 1967... 1967 Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition
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Notes

  • A companion volume to Short Stories of Australia : The Moderns (ed. Beatrice Davis).
  • Includes brief biographical notes on the authors.
  • Author's Introduction: 'The publishers asked Stewart 'to make this selection, which is the first book of an anthology intended to cover, in two volumes, the best Australian short stories from the beginning of European settlement to the 1960s,...' and he decided that rather than an essentially historical approach 'it could be essentially literary in approach, based on quality.' Douglas Stewart (vii-xiv).

Contents

* Contents derived from the Sydney, New South Wales,:Angus and Robertson , 1967 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Bill, the Ventriloquial Rooster, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour
Mitchell relates the sorry tale of Bill, a rooster mystified by the echo of his crowing.
(p. 1-5)
The Drover's Wife, Henry Lawson , single work short story

First appearing in The Bulletin in 1892, Henry Lawson's short story 'The Drovers Wife' is today regarded as a seminal work in the Australian literary tradition. Noted for it's depiction of the bush as harsh, potentially threatening and both isolated and isolating, the story opens with a simple enough premise: an aggressive--and presumably deadly--snake disrupts the working life of a bushwoman and her young children. Brave but cautious, the woman resolves to protect her children since her husband is, characteristically, away from home and of no help. 

As time passes within the story, tension builds, and the snake's symbolic threat takes on layers of meaning as the sleepless heroine recalls previous challenges she faced while her husband was away. A series of flashbacks and recollections propel the story through the single night over which it takes place, and by the time the climax arrives--the confrontation with the snake--readers have learned much about the heroine's strengths and fears, most of the latter involving the loss of children and dark figures who encroach upon her small, vulnerable homestead. To be sure, this "darkness" is highly symbolic, and Lawson's use of imagery invokes Western notions of good and evil as well as gendered and racial stereotypes. 

(p. 6-13)
The Bush Undertaker, Henry Lawson , single work short story
An old shepherd discovers his mate, Brummy, dead and mummified in the bush. Saddened, he feels compelled to bury him.
(p. 14-21)
A Golden Shanty, Edward Dyson , single work short story (p. 22-33)
A Visit to Scrubby Gully, Edward Dyson , single work short story humour (p. 34-42)
The Deeply Poetic Account of a Midsummer Night's Idyll A Midsummer Night's Idyll, Titus Salt , single work short story humour (p. 43-50)
Note: With title: 'The Deeply Poetic Account of a Midsummer Night's Idyll'. Minor variants in text from original version.
Starting the Selection, 'Steele Rudd' , single work short story (p. 51-54)
The Night We Watched for Wallabies, 'Steele Rudd' , single work short story humour (p. 55-57)
Lieutenant Darrell's Predicament, 'Price Warung' , single work short story (p. 58-74)
The Chosen Vessel, Barbara Baynton , single work short story
Following a similar thread to Henry Lawson's "The Drover's Wife" (and many believe, a direct response to it), "The Chosen Vessel" follows a young mother left alone in her outback hut who becomes growingly concerned for her own safety following the arrival of a menacing swagmen. The story also follows for a short time a man riding in to town to place his vote and his struggles with religious guilt. 
(p. 75-81)
Billy Skywonkie, Barbara Baynton , single work short story (p. 82-94)
Piety's Monument, Point Blank , single work short story (p. 95-98)
Destiny, Frank Penn-Smith , single work short story fable (p. 99-102)
The Methodical Mr Burr of Majuru The Methodical Mr. Burr, Louis Becke , single work short story (p. 103-107)
Note: With title: 'The Methodical Mr Burr of Majuru'
The Cast-Iron Canvasser, A. B. Paterson , single work short story humour satire science fiction (p. 108-116)
Wharf Labourers, Robert Brothers , single work short story (p. 117-120)
The Outcasts, Lindsay Dyson , single work short story (p. 121-133)
Adventure Adventure : A Fantasy of the Ranges, Hugh McCrae , single work short story (p. 134-135)
Note: With title: Adventure
The Bath : An Aquarelle, Henry Handel Richardson , single work short story (p. 136-139)
The Duel, William Baylebridge , single work short story war literature (p. 140-142)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Lawson and the Short Story in Australia J. Barnes , 1968 single work review
— Appears in: Westerly , July no. 2 1968; (p. 83-87)

— Review of Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition 1967 anthology short story
[Review] Short Stories of Australia : The Moderns [and] Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition Leon Cantrell , 1968 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Left Review , no. 2 1968; (p. 40-45)

— Review of Short Stories of Australia : The Moderns 1967 anthology short story ; Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition 1967 anthology short story
The Bush - The Home of the Weird Kylie Tennant , 1967 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 3 June 1967; (p. 19)

— Review of Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition 1967 anthology short story
[Review] Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition [et al] F. H. Mares , 1967 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 17 June 1967; (p. 20)

— Review of Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition 1967 anthology short story ; Henry Lawson Judith Wright , 1967 single work biography ; Henry Lawson's Humorous Stories Henry Lawson , 1967 selected work short story ; Henry Lawson : Collected Verse : Vol.I 1885-1900 Henry Lawson , 1967 selected work poetry
[Review] Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition Marcus Hitchcock , 1967 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June vol. 6 no. 8 1967; (p. 122)

— Review of Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition 1967 anthology short story
[Review] Short Stories of Australia : The Moderns [and] Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition Neil Jillett , 1967 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 11 November 1967; (p. 23)

— Review of Short Stories of Australia : The Moderns 1967 anthology short story ; Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition 1967 anthology short story
[Review] Short Stories of Australia : The Moderns [and] Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition Leon Cantrell , 1968 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Left Review , no. 2 1968; (p. 40-45)

— Review of Short Stories of Australia : The Moderns 1967 anthology short story ; Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition 1967 anthology short story
[Review] Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition 1967 single work review
— Appears in: Advocate: A Weekly Catholic Journal , 6 July 1967; (p. 18)

— Review of Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition 1967 anthology short story
Book Reviews Walter Stone , 1967 single work review
— Appears in: Biblionews and Australian Notes & Queries , vol. 2 no. 2 (2nd Series) 1967; (p. 35-38)

— Review of Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition 1967 anthology short story ; Remember 'Smith's Weekly'? : A Biography of an Uninhibited National Australian Newspaper, Born 1 March 1919, Died 28 October 1950 George Blaikie , 1975 single work criticism ; Sheaf Tosser and Other Poems Eric Rolls , 1967 selected work poetry ; Happiness : Selected Short Stories Katharine Susannah Prichard , 1967 selected work short story
[Review] Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition [and] Happiness Maurice Dunlevy , 1967 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 3 June 1967; (p. 13)

— Review of Short Stories of Australia : The Lawson Tradition 1967 anthology short story ; Happiness : Selected Short Stories Katharine Susannah Prichard , 1967 selected work short story
Last amended 5 Aug 2008 15:22:56
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