Australian Books and Authors in the American Marketplace 1840s-1940s

(Paperback)

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Shortlisted for the Walter McRae Russel Award 2019

Australian Books and Authors in the American Marketplace 1840s1940s explores how Australian writers and their works were present in the United States before the mid-20th century to a much greater degree than previously acknowledged. Drawing on fresh archival research and combining the approaches of literary criticism, print culture studies and book history, David Carter and Roger Osborne demonstrate that Australian writing was transnational long before the contemporary period. In mapping Australian literatures connections to British and US markets, their research challenges established understandings of national, imperial and world literatures.

Carter and Osborne examine how Australian authors, editors and publishers engaged productively with their American counterparts, and how American readers and reviewers responded to Australian works. They consider the role played by British publishers and agents in taking Australian writing to America, and creating new opportunities for novelists to move between markets.

Some of these writers, such as Christina Stead and Patrick White, remain household names; others who once enjoyed international fame, such as Dale Collins and Alice Grant Rosman, have been largely forgotten. The story of their books in America reveals how culture, commerce and copyright law interacted to create both opportunities and obstacles for Australian writers.

Reviews

This is book history par excellence, assured of its breadth and detail of the archive, but rich with the humanity of its makers. Australian Books and Authors is an elegantly told story of the ebbs and flows of a cultural trademark manufactured by the publishing apparatus of Americas dominant book industry.

This book serves as both an enjoyable read as well as a scholarly perusal, drawing on extensive research into primary resources and a wide range of critical and historical documents [The book shows] us how Australian literaturecontrary to the evolutionary
mode of approaching independent, mature and modern statusmigrated transnationally, and then achieved international presence before it was recognised as national literature.

Author Bio

David Carter is a professor of Australian literature and cultural history at the University of Queensland.

Roger Osborne is a lecturer in English and writing at James Cook University.