Capricornia
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: Fair
Jacket: N/A
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Markings: Previous owner
A landmark of Australian literature, Capricornia is a sweeping, epic novel that chronicles the brutal and often darkly comic history of a fictional Northern Territory region in the early twentieth century. Xavier Herbert's ambitious work unfolds across generations, centering on the lives of white settlers, Indigenous Australians, and mixed-race characters — particularly the half-caste protagonist Norman — to expose the devastating human cost of colonial racism and social hypocrisy. With savage wit and unflinching moral force, Herbert illustrates how systemic prejudice corrupts individuals and institutions alike, rendering the vast, untamed landscape of Capricornia both a place of raw beauty and profound injustice. The novel's sprawling cast and richly layered narrative give it the weight of a national epic, and its indictment of Australia's treatment of its Aboriginal peoples remains as urgent and resonant today as when it was first published in 1938. Bold, irreverent, and deeply humane, it stands as one of the most important and powerful works of fiction ever produced on Australian soil.
Author: Xavier Herbert
Format: Hardback
Genre: Australian history
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: N/A
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Markings: Previous owner
A landmark of Australian literature, Capricornia is a sweeping, epic novel that chronicles the brutal and often darkly comic history of a fictional Northern Territory region in the early twentieth century. Xavier Herbert's ambitious work unfolds across generations, centering on the lives of white settlers, Indigenous Australians, and mixed-race characters — particularly the half-caste protagonist Norman — to expose the devastating human cost of colonial racism and social hypocrisy. With savage wit and unflinching moral force, Herbert illustrates how systemic prejudice corrupts individuals and institutions alike, rendering the vast, untamed landscape of Capricornia both a place of raw beauty and profound injustice. The novel's sprawling cast and richly layered narrative give it the weight of a national epic, and its indictment of Australia's treatment of its Aboriginal peoples remains as urgent and resonant today as when it was first published in 1938. Bold, irreverent, and deeply humane, it stands as one of the most important and powerful works of fiction ever produced on Australian soil.