The Life of Such is Life

A Cultural History of an Australian Classic

Roger Osborne

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English

Sydney University Press
01 March 2022

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Literary studies: from c 1900 -; Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers

Series: Sydney Studies in Australian Literature

Since its publication in 1903, Joseph Furphy’s 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 Furphy’s 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. Furphy’s 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 Furphy’s work should be published.

In a fascinating piece of literary detective work, Osborne traces the book’s journey and shows how economic and cultural forces helped to shape the novel we read today.

By: Roger Osborne
Imprint: Sydney University Press
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 254mm, Width: 178mm,
Weight: 270g
ISBN: 9781743327692
ISBN 10: 1743327692
Series: Sydney Studies in Australian Literature
Pages: 210
Publication Date: 01 March 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Roger Osborne is Senior Lecturer in English and Writing at James Cook University, Cairns.

Reviews for The Life of Such is Life: A Cultural History of an Australian Classic

"""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 *"

Winner of NSW Premier's Literary Awards (Douglas Stewart Prize) 2023 (Australia)
Winner of Queensland Literary Awards 2022 (Australia)
Winner of Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2022 (Australia)
Winner of Walter McCrae Russell Award 2023 (Australia)