It’s time to spin again with The Classics Club. Details on how to play are here.
On Sunday the 17th October, a random number will be drawn. Match the number to the book on your list, then read said book before the 12th December.
November is AusReading Month, for spin #28 I am therefore going to focus on the Australian classics lingering on my TBR pile and eReader.
CC Spin #28 looks like this:
- The Timeless Land | Eleanor Dark
- An Australian Girl by Catherine Martin
- My Brilliant Career | Miles Franklin
- It’s Raining in Mango | Thea Astley
- A Little Bush Maid | Mary Grant Bruce
- A Woman’s Experiences in the Great War | Louise Mack
- Maurice Guest | Henry Handel Richardson
- Policy and Passion | Rosa Praed
- The Slow Natives | Thea Astley
- We of the Never-Never | Jeannie Gunn
- Voss | Patrick White
- Myself When Young | Henry Handel Richardson
- A Woman’s Experiences in the Great War | Louise Mack
- The Penance of Portia James | Tasma
- The Battlers | Kylie Tennant
- A Mere Chance by Ada Cambridge
- Uncle Piper of Piper’s Hill | Tasma
- A Sydney Sovereign and Other Tales | Tasma
- Coonaroo by Katharine Susannah Prichard
- 1788 by Watkin Tench
My Previous 27 Spin Results:
At some point, now that I am on WordPress, I will fix the book images for my previous spins, and turn them into a glorious Block Editor slideshow. I started to tonight, but quickly realised that many of the older books were odd sizes. This job is now filed under the-things-to-do-when-I-have-more-time folder!
Happy Spinning!
UPDATE: It’s number 12!
I’m thrilled that it spun one of the books on this list that is an actual physical book (& not one the out-of-print classics on my eReader). Myself When Young | Henry Handel Richardson is HRR’s autobiography published posthumously in 1948. According to the blurb it is a,
frank and engaging account of her childhood living in the post offices of various rural towns, her adolescence at boarding school in Melbourne that would form the basis of her much loved novel The Getting of Wisdom, her time in Leipzig studying music and her early years of marriage. With insights into the inspiration for some of her most famous characters, and comments on the response to her depiction of those characters and events following the publication of her early novels, Myself When Young is not only a marvellous account of a life, but a fascinating companion to the fictional works of one of our greatest novelists.
Perfect!
| This post was written on the traditional land of the Wangal clan, one of the 29 clans of the Eora Nation within the Sydney basin. This Reading Life acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are our first storytellers. |
bronasbooks.com 
Whew. Most of these authors I haven’t even heard of, and the ones I’ve heard of I haven’t read. I’m curious about Voss, though. Good luck!
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Ha! that’s the one I’m most nervous about Reese. It’s quite a thick book and would be quite a commitment to read, but one I’ve been meaning to read for a very long time.
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How embarrassing that I’ve only heard of one of these potential choices. But no. 6 sounds very interesting. I do hope you get a good one!
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Louise Mack is a fascinating woman.
Born in Tasmania in 1870, she ended up at school in Sydney where she became friends with Ethel Turner (Seven Little Australians). When she moved to England, she wrote a book, got married, became a journalist, then lived and worked in Florence for 6 years. In 1914 she became the first female war correspondent based in Belgium during WWI – hence the book on my list.
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Wow! Thanks for the information.
Well, I’m bummed. My library has almost no Australian books. Amazon didn’t have Louise Mack but I found her on Abebooks. The book is $5 but shipping to Canada is $75!!! Good heavens! If you have any other ideas of how to get it at a reasonable cost, please share! Thanks!
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If you’re happy to try ePub I think project Gutenberg or Gutenberg Australia have many of the books on my list.
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Thanks, Brona, you’re a gem! I’ve downloaded the Louise Mack book.
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Such an interesting range – good luck with the spin!
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Wow, what an interesting list, Brona. I have not read any of the books on your list let alone heard of most of the authors.
From your previous spins, I have read I’ve read Tess, the Brothers Karamazov, the Odyssee, Dubliners, The Secret Garden, Out of Africa, and Northanger Abbey.
Maybe you have read some books from my list?
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I would have read the Christie on your list back in my high school days, but don’t recall very much about it I’m afraid.
However, I do hope you spin the Catherine Martin book, so you can read an Australian classic too 🙂
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That would be a great outcome since I’m due to read it for another challenge, as well. As it is, I will read it in any case, looking forward to it.
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I hope you get a good one. I would love #18 on my list, so for you it would be a Tasma book, which I know nothing about
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I am actually hoping to get Tasma, which is why I included all 3 on my list this time!
I know very little about her (except that her real name is Jessie Catherine Couvreur & that her family immigrated to Tasmania when she was a child), so I would love a chance to learn more.
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I’ll have to mine your list for future Aus reads! The only one I know if My Brilliant Career. I wish you a good one!
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Thanks Jean, my all 28 cc spins buddy 🙂
Many of the books on my list can be found on Project Gutenberg or Gutenberg Australia is you’re happy to read an ePub version.
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I hope whichever one of these comes up for you is an outstanding read!
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Well, as you’d guess, I know all these books and have read more than half. You’re going to be pushed to finish some of them in the allotted time if their number comes up. Louise Mack and Ada Cambridge are both freely available online, Tasma too probably, but I have her on my shelves. I’m hoping for An Australian Girl, it’s on my list of Great Australian Novels.
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I have most of these sitting on my iPad, which is not my favourite way to read, but something I will do for an Australian classic in particular.
Now I’m off to read or reread your GAN posts.
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These Australian writers definitely need more press for this reader…all of them are completely unfamiliar to me.
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Most Australians wouldn’t know many of these writers either. Many of them are forgotten, out of print authors. Thankfully Gutenberg Australia & Project Gutenberg have brought many of them back into the public eye.
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Thanks for the reminder of Aus Lit month! I do have My Brilliant Career on my Spin list–hope, hope. If not, maybe I’ll get it in somehow. Last year I read a disappointing book of stories. Here is my spin list: https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpress.com/2021/10/14/classics-club-spin-28-list/
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This is a wonderful list! I’m not familiar with many of these authors, so it’s a great resource for expanding my Australian horizons!
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That sounds a good one! I’m not familiar with many of the other ones so yes, a good guide!
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