Wonderful! When You Come to Think of It! single work   short story   humour   detective  
Issue Details: First known date: 1865... 1865 Wonderful! When You Come to Think of It!
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

This story 'makes merciless fun of a Melbourne businessman who travels to Hamilton in pursuit of an absconding debtor (named Levanter!) The hapless Bloggins is not a 'new chum', but a colonial businessman; like Clarke he is a committed reader of Edgar Allan Poe.'
Source: Margin no.21, 1989 p.1

Notes

  • This is thought to be not only the the first story published in Australia by Marcus Clarke but also the earliest Australian detective story so far discovered.
    See Margin No.22, 1990 p.30 (by Lucy Sussex).

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

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Works about this Work

The Earliest Australian Detective Story? Lucy Sussex , 1990 single work column
— Appears in: Margin , no. 22 1990; (p. 30-31) Lucy Sussex proposes that the story by M.C., Wonderful! When You Come to Think of It! is probably the first story published in Australia by Marcus Clarke. Also, it is the earliest known Australian detective story, followed closely by The Shepherd's Hut written by James Skipp Borlase. However, it is possible that there are even earlier examples of the crime genre in Australia, waiting to be discovered.
Marcus Clarke's First Australian Publication Nan Bowman Albinski , 1989 single work column
— Appears in: Margin , no. 21 1989; (p. 1) Nan Bowman Albinski gives details of a story which was published in The Supplement to the Hamilton Spectator of January 26, 1865 and is thought to be written by Marcus Clarke. The story is called Wonderful! When You Come to Think of It! It was signed with the initials M.C.
Marcus Clarke's First Australian Publication Nan Bowman Albinski , 1989 single work column
— Appears in: Margin , no. 21 1989; (p. 1) Nan Bowman Albinski gives details of a story which was published in The Supplement to the Hamilton Spectator of January 26, 1865 and is thought to be written by Marcus Clarke. The story is called Wonderful! When You Come to Think of It! It was signed with the initials M.C.
The Earliest Australian Detective Story? Lucy Sussex , 1990 single work column
— Appears in: Margin , no. 22 1990; (p. 30-31) Lucy Sussex proposes that the story by M.C., Wonderful! When You Come to Think of It! is probably the first story published in Australia by Marcus Clarke. Also, it is the earliest known Australian detective story, followed closely by The Shepherd's Hut written by James Skipp Borlase. However, it is possible that there are even earlier examples of the crime genre in Australia, waiting to be discovered.
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Last amended 20 May 2004 12:16:21
Subjects:
Settings:
  • Melbourne, Victoria,
  • Hamilton (Vic) area, Western District, Victoria,
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