Capricornia: A Novel
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Wear and tear with damage
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Condition remarks: unclipped dj. Map endpapers. Binding remains tight. Clean and square boards.
Set in the wild, sun-scorched Northern Territory of Australia — a land Herbert christens Capricornia — this monumental novel chronicles the turbulent lives of settlers, Aboriginal people, and the mixed-race children caught between two worlds in the early twentieth century. At its heart is Norman Shillingsworth, a young man of mixed heritage who must navigate a society determined to define him, reject him, and ultimately destroy him, all against a backdrop of frontier violence, bureaucratic cruelty, and breathtaking natural grandeur. Spanning several decades and an enormous cast of characters, the novel presents a sweeping, tragicomic vision of colonial Australia that is by turns savage, tender, and darkly hilarious. First published in 1938 and winner of Australia's 150th Anniversary Prize, Capricornia stands as one of the great works of Australian literature, a scathing indictment of colonial racism and governmental indifference toward Indigenous Australians. Herbert's prose is torrential and unruly, mirroring the vast, ungovernable land he depicts, and his moral outrage is matched only by his extraordinary gift for black comedy and human sympathy. Decades ahead of its time in confronting the injustices inflicted upon Aboriginal Australians, this is a novel that continues to disturb, provoke, and astonish — a question mark burned into the conscience of a nation.
Author: Xavier Herbert
Format: Hardback
Published: 1938, Rich & Cowan, Ltd.
Genre: Australian history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Wear and tear with damage
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Condition remarks: unclipped dj. Map endpapers. Binding remains tight. Clean and square boards.
Set in the wild, sun-scorched Northern Territory of Australia — a land Herbert christens Capricornia — this monumental novel chronicles the turbulent lives of settlers, Aboriginal people, and the mixed-race children caught between two worlds in the early twentieth century. At its heart is Norman Shillingsworth, a young man of mixed heritage who must navigate a society determined to define him, reject him, and ultimately destroy him, all against a backdrop of frontier violence, bureaucratic cruelty, and breathtaking natural grandeur. Spanning several decades and an enormous cast of characters, the novel presents a sweeping, tragicomic vision of colonial Australia that is by turns savage, tender, and darkly hilarious. First published in 1938 and winner of Australia's 150th Anniversary Prize, Capricornia stands as one of the great works of Australian literature, a scathing indictment of colonial racism and governmental indifference toward Indigenous Australians. Herbert's prose is torrential and unruly, mirroring the vast, ungovernable land he depicts, and his moral outrage is matched only by his extraordinary gift for black comedy and human sympathy. Decades ahead of its time in confronting the injustices inflicted upon Aboriginal Australians, this is a novel that continues to disturb, provoke, and astonish — a question mark burned into the conscience of a nation.