Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush single work   novel   crime   mystery  
Issue Details: First known date: 1865... 1865 Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Scottish immigrant squatter Mr McAlpin is found murdered. Suspicion centres on Herbert Lindsey who is betrothed to McAlpin's daughter Flora. McAlpin's overseer Pierce Silverton also loves Flora and tells her that Herbert has married someone else. In her despair, she agrees to marry Silverton. Silverton is strangled by the man whom he paid to murder McAlpin and who is blackmailing him. Flora marries Herbert and they stay in Australia.

Contents

* Contents derived from the Cook, Belconnen area, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory,:Mulini Press , 1993 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush : Introduction, Lucy Sussex , single work criticism biography (p. i-ix)
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* Contents derived from the Melbourne, Victoria,:Grattan Street Press , 2017 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Introduction, Ken Gelder , Rachael Weaver , single work criticism
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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1865
Serialised by: The Australian Journal 1865 periodical (900 issues)
Notes:
Serialised in the Australian Journal in 12 instalments between 2 September and 18 November 1865.
    • Cook, Belconnen area, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory,: Mulini Press , 1993 .
      image of person or book cover 8371187650048773970.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: ix, 143p.p.
      Description: illus.
      Written as: Ellen Davitt
      Note/s:
      • Bibliographical references: p. 140-141.
      • Introduced by Lucy Sussex.
      • 'Almost certainly the first (murder mystery novel) by an Australian. (Lucy Sussex in the Introduction, p.vii)
      ISBN: 0949910368
      Series: Australian Books on Demand Mulini Press (publisher), 1992- series - publisher Number in series: 6
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Clan Destine Press , 2015 .
      image of person or book cover 4035220170393332246.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 244p.
      Note/s:

      • Published August 1st 2015

      ISBN: 9780992492588
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Related Works

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Works about this Work

Australian Fantasy, Crime and Romance Fiction in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries Beth Driscoll , Kim Wilkins , 2023 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Cambridge History of the Australian Novel 2023;
The Australian Crime Novel, 1830-1950 Rachel Franks , 2023 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Cambridge History of the Australian Novel 2023;
Australia in Three (Crime) Books Lucy Sussex , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Meanjin , Summer vol. 78 no. 4 2019; (p. 23-25)
— Review of Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush Arthur (Mrs.) Davitt , 1865 single work novel ; Beat Not the Bones Charlotte Jay , 1952 single work novel ; The Broken Shore Peter Temple , 2005 single work novel

'If Australia can be represented in three books, there can be little better a genre than crime fiction. European Australia originated as a penal colony, and crime and its representation have been an obsession ever since. It began with convict ballads, then true crime in newspapers, to the gradually developing form of the crime novel over the nineteenth century. Australia was a significant generic innovator here, with Fergus Hume’s 1886 The Mystery of a Hansom Cab being the first crime international blockbuster. Crime-writing in Australia has form, content, swaggering style—and some of the results are outstanding literature by any criteria.' (Introduction)
Collecting the Criminal : Murder and Mayhem in Cultural Institutions Rachel Franks , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australasian Journal of Popular Culture , 1 March vol. 7 no. 1 2018; (p. 41-58)
Introduction Ken Gelder , Rachael Weaver , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush 2017;
An Early Australian Murder Mystery Novel: Ellen Davitt and "Force and Fraud" Lucy Sussex , 1991 single work review
— Appears in: Margin , no. 25 1991; (p. 7-11)
— Review of Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush Arthur (Mrs.) Davitt , 1865 single work novel
New Recognition for Early Australian Women Writers Catherine Cecilia Pratt , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 24 July 1993; (p. C8)
— Review of A Sydney Sovereign and Other Tales Tasma , 1889 selected work short story novella ; Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush Arthur (Mrs.) Davitt , 1865 single work novel
A New Light on Old Sins Stuart Coupe , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 24 July 1993; (p. 45)
— Review of Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush Arthur (Mrs.) Davitt , 1865 single work novel
Larrikins and Vampires John Davies , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 154 1993; (p. 46)
— Review of Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush Arthur (Mrs.) Davitt , 1865 single work novel
Australia in Three (Crime) Books Lucy Sussex , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Meanjin , Summer vol. 78 no. 4 2019; (p. 23-25)
— Review of Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush Arthur (Mrs.) Davitt , 1865 single work novel ; Beat Not the Bones Charlotte Jay , 1952 single work novel ; The Broken Shore Peter Temple , 2005 single work novel

'If Australia can be represented in three books, there can be little better a genre than crime fiction. European Australia originated as a penal colony, and crime and its representation have been an obsession ever since. It began with convict ballads, then true crime in newspapers, to the gradually developing form of the crime novel over the nineteenth century. Australia was a significant generic innovator here, with Fergus Hume’s 1886 The Mystery of a Hansom Cab being the first crime international blockbuster. Crime-writing in Australia has form, content, swaggering style—and some of the results are outstanding literature by any criteria.' (Introduction)
From the Antipodes : The Beginning of Australian Crime Fiction Lucy Sussex , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: Reading Down Under : Australian Literary Studies Reader 2009; (p. 429-437) An overview of early Australian crime and detective fiction.
Issues of Class and Gender in Australian Crime Fiction : From the 1950s to Today Rachel Franks , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 96-111) In this chapter, Rachel Franks notes ‘‘Australian crime fiction writers imported many types of crime fiction from Britain, including the gothic mystery and the Newgate novel, and from America, including the locked room mystery and the spy story.’ She observes how Australian crime fiction has changed along with the ‘societies that produce it.’ She concludes that for Australian crime fiction to be attractive to mass market and an assured popularity, Australian crime fiction writers must respond ‘to the changing demands of their readers,’ and ‘continue to develop the genre with increasingly sophisticated stories about murderers and those who bring them to justice.’ (Editor’s foreword xii)
Crime Finally Pays After More than a Century Larry Schwartz , 1993 single work single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 5 September 1993; (p. 10)
Force and Fraud by Ellen Davitt : Australia's First Crime Novel Lucy Sussex , 1993 single work criticism biography
— Appears in: Mean Streets : A Quarterly Journal of Crime, Mystery and Detection , July no. 9 1993; (p. 42-45)
Brought to Book Jason Steger , 1994 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 15 May 1994; (p. 8)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (16)
Last amended 18 Sep 2018 10:30:11
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