We of the Never-Never and The Little Black Princess

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The original, autobiographical account of life and love in the Australian bush.

In 1902, Jeannie Gunn, a Melbourne schoolteacher, went with her new husband to live on the remote Elsey cattle station near the Roper River in the Northern territory. though she spend little more than a year there, her experiences in the outback and her contact with the local Aborigines impressed her deeply, and on her return to Melbourne she set down her recollections in two books, We of the Never-Never and the Little Black Princess. these books have become classics of Australian literature, beloved by generations. We of the Never-Never is presented in a special condensed edition, the Little Black Princess is presented as the full original text.

"We of the Never Never is an Australian classic and deserves to be one; its imagery and wordplay are unlike any Australian text I have read before or since. Its depiction of white settlement in wild Australia, however unfashionable today, makes it an important historical document. But much more than these things, Jeannie Gunn's We of the Never Never is a very old love story, and they just don't write them like this any more." - the Australian

Reviews

"We of the Never Never is an Australian classic and deserves to be one; its imagery and wordplay are unlike any Australian text I have read before or since. Its depiction of white settlement in wild Australia, however unfashionable today, makes it an important historical document. But much more than these things, Jeannie Gunn's We of the Never Never is a very old love story, and they just don't write them like this any more." - The Australian

Author Bio

Author and teacher, Jeannie Gunn was born in 1870 in Carlton, Melbourne. She married Aeneas Gunn in 1901, who had become a partner in Elsey cattle station in the Northern Territory. Encouraged by friends, Jeannie wrote The Little Black Princess (1905) and We of the Never-Never (1908), the second of which detailed actual events which occurred at the station. Gunn writings reflect sympathy and affection for the Aborigines, unlike many other Europeans of her time. During the First World War, she was active in welfare work for soldiers, ex-servicemen and their families, and was subsequently appointed Order of the British Empire in 1939.