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July 01, 2008

A Classic Year 15.1: Full List of Works

There have been a couple of comments posted about this series requesting details of the full set of works in Australian Classics. At first I resisted including the list on the basis that it wasn't mine to reproduce. Then I found that the book's publisher, Allen and Unwin, or the author, Jane Gleeson-White, had created a webpage showing the full contents.

I think the contents are out there in the public domain now, so I've reproduced it below. Don't, however, consider that this is all you need to get from the book. Gleeson-White introduces each of these works, putting them into context, both in terms of the author's other work and Australian literature as a whole. She uses these points to justify their inclusion, and having these introductory essays gives you with a lot more information and expertise than I can possibly provide.

1. Robbery Under Arms by Rolf Boldrewood
2. Such is Life by Joseph Furphy
3. 'The Sick Stockrider' by Adam Lindsay Gordon
4. His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke
5. 'The Chosen Vessel' by Barbara Baynton
6. 'The Man From Snowy River' by Banjo Paterson
7. 'Nationality' by Mary Gilmore
8. 'The Drover's Wife' by Henry Lawson
9. 'Lilith' by Christopher Brennan
10. Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner
11. The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson
12. 'The Gentle Water Bird' by John Shaw Neilson
13. My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
14. The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay
15. Coonardoo by Katharine Susannah Prichard
16. 10 for 66 and all that by Arthur Mailey
17. Lucinda Brayford by Martin Boyd
18. A Fortunate Life by AB Facey
19. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
20. 'Five Bells' by Kenneth Slessor
21. Capricornia by Xavier Herbert
22. The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead
23. The Pea-pickers by Eve Langley
24. 'A Letter from Rome' by AD Hope
25. Voss by Patrick White
26. My Brother Jack by George Johnston
27. 'Woman to Child' by Judith Wright
28. Tirra Lirra by the River by Jessica Anderson
29. Power Without Glory by Frank Hardy
30. 'No More Boomerang' by Oodgeroo Noonuccal
31. Storm Boy by Colin Thiele
32. The Lucky Country by Donald Horne
33. Milk and Honey by Elizabeth Jolley
34. The Acolyte by Thea Astley
35. The Glass Canoe by David Ireland
36. The Tyranny of Distance by Geoffrey Blainey
37. The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
38. An Imaginary Life by David Malouf
39. The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally
40. Visitants by Randolph Stow
41. Grand Days by Frank Moorhouse
42. 'The Buladelah-Taree Holiday Song Cycle' by Les Murray
43. The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes
44. The Plains by Gerald Murnane
45. Monkey Grip by Helen Garner
46. Our Sunshine by Robert Drewe
47. True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
48. Lilian's Story by Kate Grenville
49. My Place by Sally Morgan
50. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton

Posted by larrikin at July 1, 2008 10:45 AM

Comments

Thanks, Perry, I have Gleeson-White's book, and agree that it's a valuable guide. I used it to add to my interactive booklist (using Excel), my own personal canon, so to speak, for much the same reasons as you give for your 'year of reading classics'.
Lisa Hill

Posted by: Lisa Hill at July 1, 2008 11:13 AM

Hmn. Missing classics from the C19th include John Lang, and particularly the women prior to Baynton, which is ridiculous: Ada Cambridge, Rosa Praed and Tasma. Those three were writing to the standard of their overseas contemporaries, like George Meredith and enjoyed international reputations. Paul Eggert in the latest JASAL has a very good article on why these three disappeared from the canon, which you should check out.

Posted by: Lucy Sussex at July 2, 2008 05:01 PM

Thank you for the list as I kept watching for you to mention titles as you read them. Today I picked up My Favorite Year from our local library and will continue reading the list.

Virginia

Posted by: Virginia at July 4, 2008 06:14 AM