Joseph Furphy’s Followers (2)

Joseph Furphy

Born

in Yering, Australia

September 26, 1843

Died

September 13, 1912

Genre

Humor and Comedy, Classics

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Born to a farming family in colonial Victoria, Joseph Furphy spent his working life as a grazier, engine driver, and bullock-team leader. An avid reader and writer (he memorised passages of Shakespeare from the age of seven, as it was the only book in the house other than the Bible), Furphy composed short stories which were intermittently published in newspapers such as The Bulletin. Much of his work was published under the pseudonym "Tom Collins", and he is still sometimes misidentified as such today.

In 1897, Furphy completed his manuscript for a novel, "Such is Life", which was sent to the Bulletin's editor, A.G. Stephens. Stephens recommended changes and cuts, including two entire chapters. The novel was published in 1903 and, although i Born to a farming family in colonial Victoria, Joseph Furphy spent his working life as a grazier, engine driver, and bullock-team leader. An avid reader and writer (he memorised passages of Shakespeare from the age of seven, as it was the only book in the house other than the Bible), Furphy composed short stories which were intermittently published in newspapers such as The Bulletin. Much of his work was published under the pseudonym "Tom Collins", and he is still sometimes misidentified as such today.

In 1897, Furphy completed his manuscript for a novel, "Such is Life", which was sent to the Bulletin's editor, A.G. Stephens. Stephens recommended changes and cuts, including two entire chapters. The novel was published in 1903 and, although its sales were limited, "Such is Life" quickly came to exemplify a new school of Australian literature, one that operated in resistance to the standard colonial and traditional writing of the time. The book has been described as occupying a similar place in the Australian scene of the turn-of-the-century as "Tristram Shandy" or "Ulysses" in their respective countries.

In 1905, Furphy moved to Western Australia where his sons were living and working. The two excised chapters from his novel were extended and formed two further works: "Rigby's Romance" (serialised in 1905 but not published in book form until 1921), and "The Buln-Buln and the Brolga" (published posthumously). Furphy died in 1912.

"Such is Life" gradually developed a reputation as an Australian classic. Miles Franklin and Kate Baker published a biography of Furphy in 1944, and the author's Western Australian home eventualyl became the headquarters of the state branch of the Fellowship of Australian Writers. In 1992, a Furphy Literary Award was established by his descendants and, in 2003, a statue was raised in his home town.

The Australian word "furphy" is used to mean a tall story. Although such stories pepper his works, and are the most obvious trait of Furphy's writing, the word seems to have been somewhat coincidental. Research suggest that the word originated around the same time as a result of a popular type of water carts - which were produced by a firm owned by, of all people, Furphy's brother. ...more

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Average rating: 3.5 · 129 ratings · 23 reviews · 34 distinct works • Similar authors

	Such is Life 3.49 avg rating — 116 ratings — published 1903 — 75 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Buln-Buln and the Brolga 3.29 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2004 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rigby's Romance 3.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 1921 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Major Works of Joseph Furphy really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bushman and bookworm: Letters of Joseph Furphy 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1995	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Complete Works of Joseph Furphy 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Poems Of Joseph Furphy 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Such is Life, Rigby's Romance and The Buln-buln and the Brolga: Being Certain Extracts from the Diary of Tom Collins by Joseph Furphy, Duncan Robinson (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Psalm of Fortitude (in Short Poetry Collection 172 ) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Psalm of Patience (in Short Poetry Collection 172 ) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Joseph Furphy (?)

“It is not in our cities or townships, it is not in our agricultural or mining areas, that the Australian attains full consciousness of his own nationality; it is in places like this, and as clearly here as at the centre of the continent. To me the monotonous variety of this interminable scrub has a charm of its own; so grave, subdued, self-centred; so alien to the genial appeal of more winsome landscape, or the assertive grandeur of mountain and gorge. To me this wayward diversity of spontaneous plant life bespeaks an unconfined, ungauged potentiality of resource; it unveils an ideographic prophecy, painted by Nature in her Impressionist mood, to be deciphered aright only by those willing to discern through the crudeness of dawn a promise of majestic day.”
― Joseph Furphy, Such is Life

tags: australia

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Joseph Furphy’s Followers (2)

Joseph Furphy

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Joseph Furphy’s books