{"product_id":"2026200007998-secondhand-port-phillip-gentlemen-and-good-society-in-melbourne-before-the-gold-rushes-signed","title":"Port Phillip Gentlemen: And Good Society In Melbourne Before The Gold Rushes [signed]","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good                          \u003cbr\u003eJacket: Very good\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good                  \u003cbr\u003eMarkings: Signed\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA richly detailed work of Australian social history, Port Phillip Gentlemen: And Good Society In Melbourne Before The Gold Rushes chronicles the formation of a colonial elite in the fledgling settlement of Port Phillip during the 1830s and 1840s, before the transformative upheaval of the gold rushes reshaped the region forever. Paul de Serville meticulously reconstructs the world of squatters, pastoralists, and aspiring gentlemen who sought to transplant the manners, institutions, and class distinctions of British society onto the raw Australian frontier. With scholarly precision and a keen eye for social nuance, the narrative illustrates how questions of breeding, wealth, and respectability were fiercely contested in a society where the boundaries of good society were still being drawn. Drawing on diaries, letters, and contemporary accounts, de Serville presents a vivid portrait of Melbourne's earliest social ambitions, revealing the tensions between egalitarian colonial realities and the rigid hierarchies its leading citizens were determined to uphold. This authoritative and engagingly written study remains an essential reference for anyone interested in the social foundations of colonial Victoria.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48887936221403,"sku":"2026200007998-SECONDHAND","price":30.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/fc382058-88d9-48a4-9b66-707372ed333f.png?v=1781750009","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200007998-secondhand-port-phillip-gentlemen-and-good-society-in-melbourne-before-the-gold-rushes-signed","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}