y separately published work icon Henry Lawson selected work   short story   criticism   poetry  
Issue Details: First known date: 2002... 2002 Henry Lawson
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Notes

  • Selection arranged into the following parts: The Roaring Days; To Settle on the Land; The Great Grey Plain; At Sea and Elsewhere; Verse.

Contents

* Contents derived from the Melbourne, Victoria,:Text Publishing , 2002 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
A Genius to the Fingertips, Geoffrey Blainey , single work criticism (p. vii-xxxii)
An Old Mate of Your Father's, Henry Lawson , single work short story
The narrator remembers how his father would be visited by old mates and how they sit together talking about their days on the Ballarat and Bendigo goldfields.
(p. 3-8)
Payable Gold, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Peter MacKenzie, retired from the Ballarat goldfields and living in Melbourne with his family, is lured north to the N. S. W. goldfields. He has mortgaged his home to support his wife and children while he is away and labours unsuccessfully for years before he strikes payable gold. When he returns to Melbourne he finds that even Alligator Desolation, the family dog, has missed him.
(p. 8-15)
'Shall We Gather at the River?', Henry Lawson , single work short story (p. 15-30)
Note: With subtitle: Told by Joe Wilson
The Golden Graveyard, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour
Dave and Jim drive a secret shaft under a cemetery where they've discovered signs of gold. When Mother Middleton uncovers their workings, however, the men must flee for their lives.
(p. 31-47)
The Loaded Dog, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour
Dave and Andy create a bomb to blast fish out of the waterhole. However their dog picks the bomb up and begins a deadly, yet hilarious, game of 'fetch'.
(p. 47-56)
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. 59-69)
Joe Wilson's Courtship, Henry Lawson , single work short story (p. 69-107)
Brighten's Sister-in-Law, Henry Lawson , single work short story (p. 107-135)
'Water Them Geraniums', Henry Lawson , single work short story (p. 135-170)
A Double Buggy at Lahey's Creek, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Joe Wilson puts off buying a buggy for his long-suffering wife Mary. A trip to town and an encounter with Mary's former lover changes his mind.
(p. 170-196)
Enter Mitchell, Henry Lawson , single work short story
A swagman and his dog get off the train at Redfern station and are accosted by a taxi driver.
(p. 199-201)
In a Dry Season, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Lawson describes the scenes observed as a train traveller to western N.S.W.
(p. 202-205)
The Union Buries Its Dead, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour
Describes a bush funeral.
(p. 206-211)
On the Edge of a Plain, Henry Lawson , single work short story
A swagman arrives home to discover the family in mourning for him, after having been told he is dead.
(p. 212-213)
A Rough Shed, Henry Lawson , single work short story
A rouseabout describes the routines and privations of his life in outback shearing sheds.
(p. 214-221)
Stragglers, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Description of a group of swagmen and travellers camped in the shearers' shed of a remote sheep station on New Year's Eve.
(p. 222-228)
Baldy Thompson, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Looks at the many grievances, and the strengths, of old-time squatter, Baldy Thompson.
(p. 229-232)
They Wait on the Wharf in Black : Told by Mitchell's Mate, Henry Lawson , single work short story
The narrator, Mitchell and The Oracle, are travelling back steerage from Western Australia. One of their fellow travellers, an elderly digger called Tom, is returning home because his wife has died. When they reach Sydney Tom's children are waiting on the wharf for him and Mitchell demonstrates true kindness.
(p. 235-242)
Seeing the Last of You, Henry Lawson , single work short story
Mitchell offers his views on how departures by sea should be handled, but reveals an affection for an old aunt who always insisted on seeing him off.
(p. 242-243)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Blainey's Lawson Michael McGirr , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Eureka Street , April vol. 12 no. 3 2002; (p. 43-44)

— Review of Henry Lawson 2002 selected work short story criticism poetry
Lawson's Opportunity Lost Christopher Lee , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 7 April 2002; (p. 9)

— Review of Henry Lawson 2002 selected work short story criticism poetry
The Lore Makers Les Carlyon , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 5 March vol. 120 no. 6314 2002; (p. 32-36) The Best Australian Essays 2003 2003; (p. 368-375)
Lawson's Opportunity Lost Christopher Lee , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 7 April 2002; (p. 9)

— Review of Henry Lawson 2002 selected work short story criticism poetry
Blainey's Lawson Michael McGirr , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Eureka Street , April vol. 12 no. 3 2002; (p. 43-44)

— Review of Henry Lawson 2002 selected work short story criticism poetry
The Lore Makers Les Carlyon , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 5 March vol. 120 no. 6314 2002; (p. 32-36) The Best Australian Essays 2003 2003; (p. 368-375)
Last amended 8 Apr 2010 14:12:51
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