Rolf Boldrewood

In Bad Company, and other stories (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Excerpt: "Bill Hardwick was as fine a specimen of an Australian as you could find in a day''s march. Active as a cat and strong withal, he was mostly described as ''a real good all-round chap, that you couldn''t put wrong at any kind of work that a man could be asked to do.'' He could plough and reap, dig and mow, put up fences and huts, break in horses and drive bullocks; he could milk cows and help in the dairy as handily as a woman. These and other accomplishments he was known to possess, and being a steady, sensible fellow, was always welcome when work was needed and a good man valued. Besides all this he was the fastest and the best shearer in the district of Tumut, New South Wales, where he was born, as had been his father and mother before him. So that he was a true Australian in every sense of the word. It could not be said that the British race had degenerated as far as he was concerned. Six feet high, broad-chested, light-flanked, and standing on his legs like a gamecock, he was always ready to fight or work, run, ride or swim, in fact to tackle any muscular exercise in the world at the shortest notice. Bill had always been temperate, declining to spend his earnings to enrich the easy-going township publican, whose mode of gaining a living struck him as being too far removed from that of honest toil. Such being his principles and mode of life, he had put by a couple of hundred pounds, and ''taken up a selection.'' This means (in Australia) that he had conditionally purchased three hundred and twenty acres of 2Crown Land, had paid up two shillings per acre of the upset price, leaving the balance of eighteen shillings, to be paid off when convenient. He had constructed thereon, chiefly with his own hands, a comfortable, four-roomed cottage, of the ''slab'' architecture of the period, and after fencing in his property and devoting the proceeds of a couple of shearings to a modest outlay in furniture, had married Jenny Dawson, a good-looking, well-conducted young woman, whom he had known ever since he was big enough to crack a stockwhip."

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: OTB eBook publishing
• Seitenzahl: 546
• Erscheinungstermin: 24. Juli 2020
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9783968652320
• Artikelnr.: 59880225

Autorenporträt

Rolf Boldrewood was the pen name of Thomas Alexander Browne (1826-1915), an English-born Australian writer celebrated for his robust depictions of colonial life in Australia. Browne adopted his pseudonym from a character in the book 'The Recollections of Geoffrey Hamlyn' by Henry Kingsley. After migrating to Australia at a young age, Browne's varied life as a squatter, gold commissioner, and police magistrate heavily influenced his literary works. Most notable among his works is 'Robbery Under Arms' (1888), a novel which stands as a staple in Australian colonial literature and has had a significant impact on the cultural identity of the nation. 'In Bad Company, and other stories' is one of his collections that delve into the lives of Australians during the late 19th century, characterized by Boldrewood's rich narrative style and vivid portrayals of the Australian landscape. His work is imbued with the themes of adventure, law, and the pioneering spirit, reflecting the dynamic and often tumultuous life on the frontier. Boldrewood's literature offers not only entertainment but also a historical lens through which modern readers can view the challenges and experiences of settler society in Australia. He has left an indelible mark on the genre of bush literature, earning him a distinguished place in the annals of Australian authors.