Cirrus@Austlit

'From Banjo Paterson's immortal ballad comes the classic novel.

'Jim Craig is 18-years-old, and cannot return to his mountain home until he has proven himself a man. Jessica Harrison is the beautiful, impetuous daughter of the wealthy cattleman whose £ 1000 colt runs off to join the brumby mob. And then there is the stallion, leader of the brumbies for almost 20 years, ranging free and proud in the mountains, whose very existence is like a dark thread running through the lives of so many people ....' (Publication summary)

'He sent the flint stones flying, but the pony kept his feet,

'He cleared the fallen timber in his stride,

'And the man from Snowy River never shifted in his seat-

'It was grand to see that mountain horseman ride

'There is no greater Australian bush hero than the man from Snowy River, and no greater bush legend than his famous downhill ride. 

'When a valuable colt escapes and runs off with the mountain brumbies, the crack riders and stockmen of the region get together to bring it back. But the countryside is wild and rugged and only the toughest horse and rider can keep up with the wild bush horses. (Publication summary)

'The Swagman, inspired by his beloved Banjo Paterson, sets out to stage the history of Australia. However, his troupe of clowns have ideas of their own. Together they attempt to stage all of the defining chapters in Australian history—from Gallipoli to the Sydney Olympics, and from Ned Kelly to Kylie Minogue.

'The Clown from Snowy River asks the big questions: What is the Australian identity? What historical events define who we are? And what on earth is a movement at the station?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Young aboriginal Australian, Toby rode the high plateaus and steep-mountain gorges chasing brumbies, his feats documented and dated about two years before Paterson began writing his iconic poem after visiting the region. Paterson’s only description of ‘the man’ is that he is a ‘stripling’. This story also features Kurnai leader, Bunjileenee; Lauren Tucker, his white consort, who in real life he rescued from a shipwreck; and Angus McMillan who, with his gang of vigilantes, slaughtered hundreds of Snowy River families. It’s a love story; Aboriginals Toby and Louise wrestle with how they might fit into the new Australia of British imperialism. Most of all, it is the story of one young man’s feat of such outstanding horsemanship that, masked, he entered Australian history, literature and legend.' (Source: Proof-it website)