A literary tapestry that unfolds like a vibrant mosaic, The Cambridge Companion to the Australian Novel offers a wide-ranging and insightful overview of this rich national literary tradition, inviting readers to wander through the intricate passages of Australian storytelling Editors Nicholas Birns and Louis Klee have assembled an impressive array of contributors, including eminent scholars and emerging voices, to analyse the historical development and contemporary innovations of the Australian novel. For students new to the field as well as specialists, this volume serves as an indispensable guide to a body of fiction that has gained increasing global prominence.
Australian literature entered an era of international recognition in the 1970s and 1980s, with novelists such as Patrick White, Christina Stead and Peter Carey winning prizes and translations abroad. However, as the editors note, the Australian novel has a much longer and more complex history that predates its twentieth-century heyday. Indeed, the…