y separately published work icon Classic Australian Stories series - publisher  
Note: General editor
Issue Details: First known date: 1977-... 1977- Classic Australian Stories
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Shortened and adapted versions of Australian novels

Includes

y separately published work icon The Recollections of Geoffry Hamlyn Lesley Zuber , West Melbourne : Nelson , 1977 Z1039672 1977 single work children's fiction children's
y separately published work icon The Irishman Elizabeth O'Conner , Lesley Zuber (editor), West Melbourne : Nelson , 1979 Z1312376 1979 single work children's fiction children's The story of Michael Doolan and his development to manhood is appropriately set against the wide background of the Gulf Country in the north of Australia. For Michael's growth from childhood and adolescence, and his long search for his father, Paddy Doolan, is told with a largeness of dimension that is one of the most striking features of this excellent novel. Elizabeth O'Conner is well-known for her light-hearted and deservedly popular book, Steak for Breakfast. In this novel she has moved on to a subject that gives more scope to her unquestioned powers.

"Michael is disturbed in childhood by the conflicts that his father seems inevitably to generate - in his family relationships and with his fellow-townsmen. When, later, his living as a teamster is threatened by the advent of motor-transport, Paddy Doolan goes to the coast to sell his team, and Michael, realizing that his father will never return, sets out on his long search for him. Michael's inarticulate, determined development is emphasized by his father's inherent weaknesses, and also by the decline of the township where they live before the family breaks up. The gold-mines give out, the town declines in prosperity, and its people drift away. It is as though the fortunes of most of the people in the book are shaped and broken by time, whereas Michael, monosyllabic, loyal, and stubborn, shapes his own fortunes. Elizabeth O'Conner's sense of the dramatic is balanced by her sensitivity and compassion as she traces the fine threads that bind character to character. 

Of The Irishman, Eleanor Dark has said: “Elizabeth O'Conner has the gift of conveying much in a few words; without elaborate analysis, she creates real people, and without overmuch description, she shows a vivid and authentic scene. The perception, tolerance and humour with which she tells her story and reveals her characters make this a book which is often moving, but never sentimental.” (from dustjacket)

y separately published work icon For the Term of His Natural Life Ida Veitch , Melbourne : Nelson , 1977 Z966453 1977 single work children's fiction children's adventure Melbourne : Nelson , 1977
y separately published work icon Robbery Under Arms Gail Holst-Warhaft , West Melbourne : Nelson , 1977 Z1097547 1977 single work children's fiction children's West Melbourne : Nelson , 1977
y separately published work icon Tales from Henry Lawson Margaret Macpherson , Melbourne : Nelson , 1977 Z1313460 1977 selected work children's fiction children's Melbourne : Nelson , 1977
y separately published work icon Dot and the Kangaroo Lesley Zuber , West Melbourne : Nelson , 1978 Z1104613 1978 single work children's fiction children's Adapted from Ethel Pedly's Dot and the Kangaroo, the story concerns Dot, the young child of an outback settler who becomes lost in the bush and is subsequently befriended by a huge female red kangaroo. This leads to her travelling about the countryside in the kangaroo's pouch. The two meet a number of characters on their travels, including a platypus, a koala and a kookaburra, and have several exciting adventures before the kangaroo eventually helps Dot find her way home. West Melbourne : Nelson , 1978
y separately published work icon Such Is Life Gail Holst-Warhaft , West Melbourne : Nelson , 1979 Z1097550 1979 single work children's fiction children's West Melbourne : Nelson , 1979
y separately published work icon Steak for Breakfast Elizabeth O'Conner , Gail Holst-Warhaft (editor), West Melbourne : Nelson , 1981 Z1097540 1981 single work children's fiction children's West Melbourne : Nelson , 1981

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

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Last amended 24 Mar 2004 16:44:08
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