The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century.
Current Theme: Colonial Short Stories: Australia
Continuing our exploration of Victorian colonial short stories, we now move to Australia. Through a range of genres, such as Gothic, detective, realistic and humour, we will meet ex-convicts, detectives, murderers, lone women, government officials, bush settlers, fossickers and even a ghost. This should give us a more personal perspective of the lives lived within the colonial system than that recorded in the history books. .Our sessions will also give us the opportunity to discuss many of the current debates about imperialism through both the beliefs and understanding of the time and the different perspective and hindsight of the modern age.
The Cast-iron Canvasser’ by Banjo Paterson,
(published in The Bulletin, 19 December)
A humorous story about a mechanical book-seller built to withstand the harassment travelling salesmen received when trying to sell goods to residents in the outback.
Upon registration you will receive a link to an on-line copy of the text and, as it is a short story group, it will require no more than an evening’s preparation to read the required material.
Sessions take place monthly between October and June at a venue in Chiswick, London, W4 1TT, between 7 and 8.30 pm. At each session there is a brief introduction to the work, followed by a group discussion in a relaxed atmosphere, with wine and nibbles supplied.
Image: Gold panning Australia 1900 – Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.