Guest post by Kathryn White: Classic Aussie Novels

Today, fellow Aussie Kathryn White has kindly stopped by to chat with you while i'm off travelling in India. Welcome Kathryn :-)Some classic Australian novels well worth a look (if you can find them).I confess. I love searching through second-hand bookstores. I love the smell of second-hand and aging books and, sometimes, the history of that book. (A name or a special message in the inside cover perhaps.) One of my favourite things about my local second-hand bookstore is that they have a shelf devoted entirely to Australian books and authors. From this shelf, I have discovered many wonderful Australian books that are no longer in print, or may be difficult to find. Listed below are three of my favourites …An Australian Girl by Catherine MartinFirst published in 1890 An Australian Girl tells the story of Stella Courtland a young woman who is caught between two men, the boorish all-Australian Ted Richie and Anselm Langdale a genteel European doctor and eventually finds herself having to choose between love and duty. Not Only in Stone by Phyllis SomervilleThis tells the story of a family from Cornwall who migrate to Australia. It tells the story of the difficulties they face while settling in to a strange new country, eventually making a home in Moonta, where the father works in the mines. Tragedy strikes and the heroine, Polly, finds herself with the responsibility of raising her four children alone.Beat Not the Bones by Charlotte JayThe winner of the Edgar Allen Poe award for best novel in 1952, this book tells the story of a young Australian woman who travels to New Guinea to investigate her husband’s death. The authorities claim that it was suicide. Stella Warwick begs to differ … 

So, what are your favourite Australian novels?

Thank you for this wonderful post, Kathryn. I have never heard of any of these novels, but I will be looking a little closer next time i'm in my local used bookstore. It has an 'Australian' bookshelf but I haven't noticed whether it stocks any older titles, I usually just pick up rural romances from that section.

Kathryn is the author of Being Abigail, a witty tale about an Aussie woman who posts a suicide note on her blog. I reviewed it late last year, and i recommend you check it out on Goodreads.