A Bride from the Bush

by E.W. Hornung

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

163 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1890

About the author

Ernest William Hornung known as Willie, was an English author, most famous for writing the Raffles series of novels about a gentleman thief in late Victorian London.

In addition to his novels and short stories Hornung wrote some war verse, and a play based on the Raffles stories was produced successfully. He was much interested in cricket, and was "a man of large and generous nature, a delightful companion and conversationalist".

Reviews

[Curlemagne]

A charming vintage romance (published 1890), so long as you accept the terms of the colonialist mindset: that Australia is a vast "uncivilized" barren landscape and that England is culturally superior but so repressed it considers enthusiasm to be gauche.

Hornung clearly loves Australia as much as he does the suburbs of London: he describes the bush with such care that I, who have never been there, felt I could picture it vividly and saw its beauty. This book is a romance in that it features a loving couple finding their way, complete with passion and melodramatic ending, but it doesn't follow the beats of a traditional genre romance as it is more about contrasting two societies than the "how" of their love. In that sense, this is a very fine portrait of English high society, complete with its faux-polite pettiness and refusal to communicate openly. If you enjoy an unsubtle but keenly observant Edwardian comedy of manners, this is well done.

One reference to a "black" laborer in the outback but otherwise free from slurs or detailed bigotry. The absence (unimportance) of indigenous Aboriginal Australians haunts this narrative, which I suppose is preferable to ugly caricatures.

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is basically a tale of in-laws from Hell. I loved the spunky little bride from the Bush (Gladys), and I also loved that Alfred was essentially one of those “I LOVE MY WIFE” characters. Delighted that it ends on a happy note; it really made me smile.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and easy to read story about an Australian bride of an upperclass Englishman and the problems both she and her in-laws have adjusting to each other.

[Glenn Blake · Rating 1 out of 5]

The prejudice and english superiority of this author towards Australians is infuriating. I had to put the book down, which seemed no great loss as the writing was rather run of the mill anyway.

[Christiane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is nothing to write home about. It starts as a mildly humorous
(though very dated) story about a young man who brings a beautiful but "savage" Australian wife into the bosom of his well-to-do and very refined British family. Half-way through things get melodramatic and I skipped the rest, only checking to see if the ending was what I thought it would be (it was).