The Life of Such is Life: A Cultural History of an Australian Classic
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
The Life of Such is Life: A Cultural History of an Australian Classic
By (Author) Roger Osborne
Sydney University Press
Sydney University Press
1st March 2022
Australia
Classifications
General
Non Fiction
Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000
823.912
Winner of Queensland Literary Awards 2022 (Australia)
Physical Properties
Paperback
210
Width 178mm, Height 254mm, Spine 14mm
270g
Description
Since its publication in 1903, Joseph Furphys Such is Life has become established as an Australian classic. But which version of the novel is the authoritative text, and what does its history reveal about Australian cultural life
From Furphys handwritten manuscript through numerous editions, a controversial abridgement for the British market (condemned by A.D. Hope as a 'mutilation'), and periods of obscurity and rediscovery, the text has been reshaped and repackaged by many hands. Furphys first editors at the Bulletin diluted his socialist message and corrected his Australian slang to create a more marketable book. Later, literary players including Vance and Nettie Palmer, Miles Franklin, Kate Baker and Angus & Robertson all took an interest in how Furphys work should be published.
In a fascinating piece of literary detective work, Osborne traces the books journey and shows how economic and cultural forces helped to shape the novel we read today.
Reviews
"Osborne offers a cogent chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the major revisions, excisions, and textual transfers, and of their effects on the material condition of Such Is Life."
-- Brigid Magner * Australian Book Review *Author Bio
Roger Osborne is Senior Lecturer in English and Writing at James Cook University, Cairns.
