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  • The Life of Such is Life: A Cultural History of an Australian Classic by Roger Osborne book cover
  • The Life of Such is Life: A Cultural History of an Australian Classic by Roger Osborne book cover
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The Life of Such is Life: A Cultural History of an Australian Classic

by Roger Osborne

A novel’s changing text and cultural afterlife

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A novel’s changing text and cultural afterlife

Roger Osborne examines how Joseph Furphy’s *Such is Life* moved from handwritten manuscript to a widely recognized Australian classic. Following its publication history across editions, the book considers questions of textual authority and the interventions that altered the novel: early editors revised its socialist content and Australian slang, while a controversial abridgement was prepared for the British market. Osborne also traces periods of neglect and renewed interest, alongside the roles played by literary figures and publishers in shaping how Furphy’s work appeared. The result is a cultural history of one novel and a study of how editorial choices and publishing conditions can influence a text’s place in literary life.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in Australian literary history and classic fiction
  • Those curious about editing, publishing history, and textual variants
  • Readers studying Joseph Furphy or the cultural life of literature

Themes

Australian literary historyTextual editing and authorityPublishing and cultural influenceSocialism and Australian slang

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Since its publication in 1903, Joseph Furphy's Such is Life has become established as an Australian classic. But which version of the novel is the authoritative text, and what does its history reveal about Australian cultural life?

 

From Furphy's handwritten manuscript through numerous editions, a controversial abridgement for the British market (condemned by A.D. Hope as a "mutilation"), and periods of obscurity and rediscovery, the text has been reshaped and repackaged by many hands. Furphy's first editors at the Bulletin diluted his socialist message and "corrected" his Australian slang to create a more marketable book. Later, literary players including Vance and Nettie Palmer, Miles Franklin, Kate Baker and Angus & Robertson all took an interest in how Furphy's work should be published.

 

In a fascinating piece of literary detective work, Osborne traces the book's journey and shows how economic and cultural forces helped to shape the novel we read today.

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