By Charles Dickens
From Wikipedia. Nicholas Nickleby, or The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, is the third novel by Charles Dickens, originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839. The character of Nickleby is a young man who must support his mother and sister after his father dies.
London. Chapman and Hall. 1839. 954p.
By Charles Dickens
From Wikipedia: Our Mutual Friend, written in 1864–1865, is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining savage satire with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, quoting the book's character Bella Wilfer, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life".[1]
Most reviewers in the 1860s continued to praise Dickens's skill as a writer in general, but did not review this novel in detail. Some found the plot both too complex and not well laid out.[2] The Times of London found the first few chapters did not draw the reader into the characters. In the 20th century, however, reviewers began to find much to approve in the later novels of Dickens, including Our Mutual Friend.[3] In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, some reviewers suggested that Dickens was, in fact, experimenting with structure,[4][5] and that the characters considered somewhat flat and not recognized by the contemporary reviewers[6] were meant rather to be true representations of the Victorian working class and the key to understanding the structure of the society depicted by Dickens in the novel.[6][7]
London. Chapman & Hall. 1865. 970p.
By Charles Dickens
From Wikipedia: “The story concerns Paul Dombey, the wealthy owner of the shipping company of the book's title, whose dream is to have a son to continue his business. The book begins when his son is born and Dombey's wife dies shortly after giving birth. Following the advice of Mrs Louisa Chick, his sister, Dombey employs a wet nurse named Mrs Richards (Toodle). Dombey already has a six-year-old daughter Florence, but, bitter at her not having been the desired boy, he neglects her continually. One day, Mrs Richards, Florence, and her maid, Susan Nipper, secretly pay a visit to Mrs Richards' house in Staggs's Gardens so that Mrs Richards can see her children. During this trip, Florence becomes separated from them and is kidnapped for a short time by Good Mrs Brown, before being returned to the streets. She makes her way to Dombey and Son's offices in the City and there is found and brought home by Walter Gay, an employee of Mr Dombey, who first introduces her to his uncle, the navigation instrument maker Solomon Gills, at his shop The Wooden Midshipman. The child, named Paul after his father, is a weak and sickly child….”
London. Bradbury & Evans. 1848.
By Charles Dickens
“…When he came therefore to think of his new story for Christmas time, he resolved to make it a plea for the poor ... He was to try and convert Society, as he had converted Scrooge, by showing that its happiness rested on the same foundations as those of the individual, which are mercy and charity not less than justice…” (Wikipedia)
Chapman and Hall. 1844. 175p.
By Tim Winton
"The Shepherd's Hut" is a novel by Australian author Tim Winton, first published in 2018. The story is narrated by Jaxie Clackton, a teenage boy who has run away from his abusive father and finds himself alone in the harsh Western Australian wilderness.
Jaxie is a tough and resourceful character who has learned to survive on his own. He comes across an old shepherd's hut and decides to stay there for a while, hoping to avoid being caught by the authorities who are searching for him.
While he is there, Jaxie meets a strange and reclusive man named Fintan MacGillis, who has been living in the wilderness for many years. Fintan takes Jaxie under his wing and teaches him how to survive in the harsh environment.
As Jaxie and Fintan spend time together, Jaxie begins to open up about his troubled past and the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. Fintan, in turn, shares his own painful memories and the reasons why he has chosen to live in isolation.
The novel explores themes of survival, redemption, and the healing power of human connection. It also examines the complex relationship between fathers and sons, and the ways in which family history can shape our lives.
Australia. Penguin Random House.
By Steele Rudd
"We want a man," Fahey added, "who'll go to Brisbane an' put the sufferances of the farmers plainly an'— an'—well before Parliament—a man who'll talk t' thim, an' talk straightforredly t' thim, an'—an'—tell thim what's right an'—an' what ought t' be done. An' there's no one can do it better'n yeou."
Dad stared at the floor in silence. He seemed impressed with Fahey's argument.
So began Dad's career in Politics, and although he doesn't know much about Parliamentary protocol, he is determined to have his say; his spectacular entry into the House, his subsequent brushes with the long-suffering Speaker, and portraits of the Member for Fillemupagen, the Minister for Lands, the Premier and the Treasurer, and the "Chesterfield", make this one of the wittiest criticisms of its kind. The book was written not long after Rudd had been retrenched from the Public Service, and he worked off a personal grudge by making many of his characters clearly recognizable among the State politicians of the day—small wonder that there were moves to have him called before the bar of the house and disciplined.
Steele Rudd's works are now part of the Australian image, and his chief heroes, Dad and Dave, part of the Australian myth. They have, unhappily, been out of print for a long time, and a whole generation has grown up without knowing characters who were a household word to their parents and grandparents. People who have never read Steele Rudd can now appreciate a unique part of the Australian heritage; and those who do know his characters will doubtless be glad to renew old acquaintances and memories.
Sydney. Bookstall. 1908. 304p.
