Issue Details: First known date: 2012... 2012 “Cranford at Moreton Bay”: Jessica Anderson’s The Commandant
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The Commandant (1975) is an underrated work, not only in relation to Jessica Anderson's oeuvre but also in the wider context of Australian literature. This novel, set in the Moreton Bay penal station in 1830, appeared at a time when a number of significant historical novels, like Patrick White's A Fringe of Leaves, Thomas Keneally's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and Thea Astley's A Kindness Cup were challenging central myths of white settlement in Australia (Sheridan, 7-20). Among convict novels it stands out on account of its focus on the gaolers as themselves prisoners of the penal system, and in particular on the middle-class women whose lives were defined by their involvement in that system, through their menfolk. (Author's abstract)

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  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Southerly Mid-Century Women Writers vol. 72 no. 1 2012 Z1896404 2012 periodical issue 2012 pg. 121-135
Last amended 24 Oct 2012 12:17:59
121-135 “Cranford at Moreton Bay”: Jessica Anderson’s The Commandantsmall AustLit logo Southerly
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