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'Marcus Clarke’s His Natural Life was the first great Australian novel. To my mind, it still remains the greatest. Its account of the horrors and brutalities of the convict settlement of Australia is unforgettable. I am not sure that I can bring myself to read it again, I think I would find it too painful an experience. I feel like that about King Lear and Wuthering Heights and much of Dostoevsky and D. H. Lawrence. These are the books to read in adolescence when you can gain a pleasure from tragedy and empathize with suffering.' (Introduction)
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Last amended 23 May 2023 08:32:19
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Writing Novels
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