Jonah

by Louis Stone, Frank Moorhouse (Introduction)

A Dickensian treat, Jonah was one of the first great novels about nineteenth century Sydney. This story of two larrikins contrasts the sordid streets of the inner suburbs with the glittering lights of the harbor. Introduced by Frank Moorhouse.

Genres: Australia, Historical Fiction, Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1911

About the author

Louis Stone emigrated with his family from England to Australia at age 13, growing up in 1880s Sydney in poverty, before becoming a teacher in New South Wales. A writer and playwright, Stone's works were critically acclaimed in his lifetime but sold poorly. His first novel, "Jonah", is considered an Australian classic while the second, "Betty Wayside", sold so poorly that Stone never wrote another.

After his death, they were rediscovered by the literary public.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read 'Jonah' over twenty years ago, partly because it may be considered the Sydney-based equivalent to my all time favourite Australian book, 'The Songs of the Sentimental Bloke' (written by C.J. Dennis and set in Melbourne). After revisiting this novel I am blown away by how good Stone's writing is. There is an economy and vividness in his prose which evokes early 1900's working class Sydney in a way that both reminds me yet also surpasses someone like Dickens, who also wrote of the urban poor (admittedly in another country several decades before hand). Whilst there are moments that are mawkish, and the plot may be accused of being somewhat contrived, 'Jonah' has a truth that only comes from a unified vision of art and real world knowledge.

In some respects a novel of social mobility and class, 'Jonah' is redolent with the universal social justice issues of urban poverty. Crime and associated delinquency, the debilitating effects of drink or poor diet, the struggle for human dignity to escape one's dire situation, the vanity of living above one's station...all are examined one way or another in Stone's novel. Love does have a redemptive role, though not necessarily for the eponymous protagonist of the book. However character is the ultimate tool to escape the poverty in Jonah's world (sometimes assisted with a hint of luck). Jonah, Chook, Pinky and Mrs Yabsley rise above their circumstances because ultimately they have a willpower and a capacity to love that goes beyond their poverty and/or their socialisation. Others, such as Ada and Clara fall into more loathsome vicissitudes associated with being poor because they cannot exert themselves emotionally or morally to meet their individual challenges.

I have given this novel 5 stars because I honestly believe it is the first best novel in Australia that deals with urban life in this country. Whilst I have not read later books within a similar thematic environment, such as 'Poor Man's Orange', I suspect 'Jonah' sets the standard and the paradigm by which following Australian urban novels must be judged by.

[Berthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book in the local library and absolutely loved it. Stone sets the scene of turn of the century Sydney's inner city slums. His central character Jonah, a born leader, is joined by some memorable, sensitively drawn characters: Mrs Yabsley, Pinkey, Chook, the ghastly Ada, Clara Grimes. Stone was born in the UK but in 1884, emigrated as a young teenager and grew up in Redfern and Waterloo - so this was his scene, but he writes as a meticulous, laconic observer, a narrator with special insight but seemingly remote. There is some quite racist talk about Chinese merchants so this book wouldn't pass muster with today's PC crowd which is a pity because it is the genuine article, a book of its time. If I didn't give it 5 stars it is because of the dialogue which has been written supposedly to convey how it would sound in the characters' voices but it just seems to grate - example: '"W'ere the 'ell 'ave yer bin? We've bin waitin' 'ere this 'arf 'our," they cried indignantly.' This being said, I thought the gist and quantity of dialogue were spot on.
The work ends neatly with what I believe is a classic denouement, containing a satisfying plot twist.

[Sharon Robards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geoffrey Dutton, a writer and editor, selected and reviewed almost a hundred classic Australian books, which was put into The Australian Collection: Australia's Greatest Books, published in 1985. Johah, by Louis Stone, is on that list.

Set in the early 1900s in inner city Sydney, it manages to capture gang culture and the poor classes lives in an intriguing and unique manner. It does have a lot of speech written phonetically, which I imagine will irritate some modern readers, but more the joy to those of us that are familiar with the way some of our elderly aunts and uncles and parents still speak. The story follows two larrikins, part of the Push gang, that hang out on the streets of inner Sydney, and where their lives take them after children and marriage. A wonderful fictional insight to our early days, written by someone who lived and witnessed those times.

[Jonah Dunch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished this, my second-favourite thing with my own name (the first is Jonah: A Veggietales Movie). A richly descriptive slices-of-life novel telling a quiet, understated tragedy in turn-of-the-century Sydney.

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do we feel about Jonah? Published when my great-grandparents were children, I find myself very compelled by this peek into the lives of the rough working class of Sydney at the turn of the century. Jonah is a lowlife, and his friends aren't much better. Women get knocked up, mothers hide money under the floorboards, and no-one is particularly keen on having a social conscience.

And yet, we quickly realise that's because they can't. I find this book fascinating because it tells the same narrative we hear now from the disenfranchised - often people of colour and the very poor - but one that is discussed with a more racist taint. Here, we have people in the same situation, who happen to be white. The characters are exquisite: Pinkey, the working-class woman who bursts off the page with her constant balancing act of holding on to something of her own personality while being used by others. The wily widow Mrs Yabsley, one story among many of how women had to find ways to survive. And Jonah himself, a fully dimensional portrait of a man who doesn't know any other way of living, yet seems to wonder if he could have something more, but constantly turns away from it due to the pressures of society and of everyday existence. Even the scenes of quotidian life, drinking or shopping at the market, are unintended historical documents. Yes, please.

[Ben Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. The writing was great but the characters seemed like yobbo thugs. If you like antiheroes by all means give it a try but I got sick of it pretty quickly.

[An]

finally... prefer the parisian hunchback

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from one positive review, Louis Stone's "Jonah" was
forgotten almost as soon as it was published. It is a
magnificent novel of the Sydney slums and was based on
Stone's memories and observations of life on the streets of
Waterloo. Set in around 1890-1900, it tells of "pushes" or
street gangs who trawled the streets looking for victims, their
weapons steel bars or broken bottles. Jonah is a vicious hunch
back and leader of the Cardigan Street push who starts to
put his energies to a positive use to give his son the sort
of life he never had.
Dominating the first part is Mrs. Yabsley, a tireless washerwoman
who is there to talk common sense to Jonah and her neighbours in
general. She sees that Jonah has the stuff in him to succeed and
hands over her life savings of 30 pounds to help him start a shoe
shop - in direct opposition to the old German who gave him his
start but soon goes out of business. Jonah is a mass of
contradictions - he thinks nothing of using every trick in the
book to put his old mentor, the person who was like a father to
him, out of business.
The two most likable characters in the book are Chook and Pinkey
- Chook is Jonah's right hand man and a knockabout larrikin until
he meets Pinkey, a pretty factory worker with copper coloured hair
and who, unlike Jonah's wife Ada, is a real hard worker. The book really comes alive with their scenes. Chook has a fruit and vegetable
shop and Louis Stone's evocative descriptions of Paddys Market and
Chook's wheeling and dealing with the market gardeners leap off
the page. All they need to make them happy is a horse and cart,
Chook is real "crook" that Pinkey has to accompany him to the
markets rain or shine, mostly rain - he wants to treat her like
the princess she is!! So when he has the chance to win enough
money at a two up game he jumps at the chance. The chapter devoted
to the game is vividly described, you can almost smell the sawdust
and the fear as desperate men defy the law in their quest for a win.
Part 2 sees Jonah prosperous but not happy. He has married Ada, the
mother of his child and while he can give her every luxury, he
despises the fact that she has not tried to better herself and she
has become an alcoholic. His son Ray is spoilt and is now taking
piano lessons from Clara Grimes. Clara comes from Cardigan Street
but unlike Ada she feels herself superior to her slummy surroundings
and to Jonah she is his ideal. But Clara is frigid and says she
can't bear to be touched - there is already a broken engagement in
her past. She likes Jonah but only for the power
and wealth that he can give.
Pinkie and Chook disappear after a while, their marriage is a
success but it would have been nice to see them featured more in
the book.

[Text Publishing · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘An excellent novel…Jonah, the deformed hero, is a sort of Napoleon of the gutter…[Stone’s book is] a valuable and original contribution to Australian fiction.’
Sydney Morning Herald

‘With one book…Stone has put himself in the front rank of Australian authorship.’
A. G. Stephens

‘Jonah is a book in which every page, as a novelist said to me lately, “feels written.” What that means is, I think, that the words are not slammed down in a hit-or-miss fashion. The author has felt aware that he has only, let us say, about ninety thousand words to use, and that there must be no waste pages, no dead paragraphs, no words that a mere counters…[Jonah is] a book extraordinarily well written.’
Nettie Palmer, The Brisbane Mail

‘Recognizable at once as a classic…Mrs Yabsley…is one of the most real and memorable characters in Australian fiction.’
H. M. Green, A History of Australian Literature

[Albion]

Not bad, although it's more interesting than a great read. There are some nice patches of prose but overall it is a little repetitive and uninspired. Still a fun read set in late 18thC Redfern and Waterloo.

[Winston Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sydney late 1800's. Excellent descriptive passages.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great novel about the mean streets of Olde Sydney Towne in the late nineteenth century.