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Bush Studies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AuthorBarbara Baynton
LanguageEnglish
Genreshort stories
PublisherDuckworth
Publication date
1902
Pages155 pp

Bush Studies is a short story collection by Barbara Baynton[1] that presents Australian bush life in the early colonial period as dangerous and isolating for the women.[2]

Analysis

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Baynton's short stories and novel were noted at the time of their publication,[3] and since,[4] for their grim realism and depiction of female suffering.[5] In contrast to other writers of "pioneer bush" narratives, this suffering is portrayed by Baynton as arising not only from the harsh environment, but from male attitudes and power. This represents an alternative view to the romanticism of the bush and "mateship" propagated through periodicals such the Bulletin, and by bush balladeers such as Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson.[5][6]

Bush Studies was first published in London in 1902, as Bayton was unable to find an Australian publisher.[7]

Contents

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  • "A Dreamer"
  • "Squeaker's Mate"
  • "Scrammy 'And"
  • "Billy Skywonkie"
  • "Bush Church"
  • "The Chosen Vessel"

Other works (selected)

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Novel

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  • Human Toll (1907)

Collections

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  • Cobbers (1917)

Individual works

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  • Fragments: 1 Day-Birth (1899) - poem
  • A Dreamer (1902) - short story

References

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  1. ^ National Library of Australia - Bush Studies by Barbara Baynton
  2. ^ "Publication summary - Bush Studies by Barbara Baynton". HarperCollins Australia. A&R Classics: HarperCollins Australia. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  3. ^ Junius [pen name] (21 January 1903). "BOOKS, PUBLICATIONS, &c.: New Books". The Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. LXVI, no. 1720. p. 58. Retrieved 15 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ Rodriguez, Judith (2014). "Essay: Bush Studies". Reading Australia. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b Barrett, Susan (1 March 2003). "No Place for a woman? Barbara Baynton's Bush Studies". Journal of the Short Story in English. Les Cahiers de la nouvelle (40): 85–96. ISSN 1969-6108. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  6. ^ Thomas, Jacki; National Library of Australia (1 October 2015). "Lawson and Baynton: Different perspectives". About Australia. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Baynton, Barbara Jane (1857–1929)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. 1979.
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