Issue Details: First known date: 1871... 1871 Mark Brown's Wife : A Tale of the Gold-Fields
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Tale opens on the Mount Jones Rocky River gold fields in 1866 when Tom Drewe, one of a party of miners reminisces of 1854 and Melbourne's Canvas Town. His assistance to a newly arrived emigrant couple, burying their baby and being rudely sneered at by an ex-convict earns their friendship and they follow him to Bendigo. The convict ring-leader, Ginger, decides to week revenge on Mark (the emigrant) and plots his murder - his first attempt at Canvas Town failing. Mark finds employment for his wife Cicely in Melbourne and then goes to the Bendigo diggings and then to the Ovens. There he helps try and track down the murderer of an old digger, in which Ginger is involved. Amusing tales of successful diggers' mistrust of each other and the ruses used to steal gold, such as the Trojan Pony. (PB)

Notes

  • In three parts: Part I: The Immigrants. Part II: The Downward Path. Part III: The Wages of Sin.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Serialised by: The Sydney Mail 1860-1938 newspaper (2470 issues)
      1871 .
      Note/s:
      • Serialised in The Sydney Mail 20 May - 30 September 1871.
Alternative title: In the Early Fifties : A Story of Australian Life.
First known date: 1892
Serialised by: The Australian Journal 1865 periodical (900 issues)
      1892 .
      Note/s:
      • Serialised in six monthly instalments in The Australian Journal bewtween February and July 1892.

Works about this Work

Charles Edward Augustus de Boos, 1819-1900 : His Life, Work, and Writing Peter Crabb , 2014 single work biography
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 3 2014;

'Charles de Boos was one of a number of mid-nineteenth century writers who helped to lay the foundations of Australian literature. His early life experiences of Huguenot ancestry and participation in the Carlist wars in Spain, followed by his initial years in Australia, made essential contributions to the person he was. So did his extremely varied working life, particularly as a reporter for the 'Argus and the 'Sydney Morning Herald', and later as a mining warden and police magistrate in New South Wales. His reporting on the goldfields in Victoria and especially New South Wales, added to his experiences of significant social and legal issues, and his concerns for the 'under-dogs', women, children, the diggers, the Chinese, and the Aborigines. It was his knowledge of the goldfields and gold mining that led to his appointment as a mining warden and other official roles in a number of locations over a period of fifteen years, work to which his social view contributed much and for whch he was highly respected, in marked contrast to what some have written.

'His life experiencess, work and travels provided the basis for his many and varied writings, to which the second half of the essay is devoted. From his parliamentary reporting came his satirical writing. From this and his travels came his social commentary. His first two novels were set in early nineteenth century rural New South Wales, 'Fifty Years Ago' being his most well-known work, "one of the best books written in the infancy of Australian literature". His subsequent fiction, notably 'Mark Brown's Wife', was set in the goldfields of New South Wales and Victoria.

'He made an as yet unacknowledged contribution to the foundations of Australian literature. He was a man who was ahead of his times in so many ways, one who gave voice to a different way in colonial New South Wales.' (Publication abstract)

The Writings of Charles De Boos Victor Crittenden , 1996 single work biography
— Appears in: Margin , April no. 38 1996; (p. 6-10)
The Writings of Charles De Boos Victor Crittenden , 1996 single work biography
— Appears in: Margin , April no. 38 1996; (p. 6-10)
Charles Edward Augustus de Boos, 1819-1900 : His Life, Work, and Writing Peter Crabb , 2014 single work biography
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 3 2014;

'Charles de Boos was one of a number of mid-nineteenth century writers who helped to lay the foundations of Australian literature. His early life experiences of Huguenot ancestry and participation in the Carlist wars in Spain, followed by his initial years in Australia, made essential contributions to the person he was. So did his extremely varied working life, particularly as a reporter for the 'Argus and the 'Sydney Morning Herald', and later as a mining warden and police magistrate in New South Wales. His reporting on the goldfields in Victoria and especially New South Wales, added to his experiences of significant social and legal issues, and his concerns for the 'under-dogs', women, children, the diggers, the Chinese, and the Aborigines. It was his knowledge of the goldfields and gold mining that led to his appointment as a mining warden and other official roles in a number of locations over a period of fifteen years, work to which his social view contributed much and for whch he was highly respected, in marked contrast to what some have written.

'His life experiencess, work and travels provided the basis for his many and varied writings, to which the second half of the essay is devoted. From his parliamentary reporting came his satirical writing. From this and his travels came his social commentary. His first two novels were set in early nineteenth century rural New South Wales, 'Fifty Years Ago' being his most well-known work, "one of the best books written in the infancy of Australian literature". His subsequent fiction, notably 'Mark Brown's Wife', was set in the goldfields of New South Wales and Victoria.

'He made an as yet unacknowledged contribution to the foundations of Australian literature. He was a man who was ahead of his times in so many ways, one who gave voice to a different way in colonial New South Wales.' (Publication abstract)

Last amended 12 Oct 2012 15:39:43
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