Pretty Dick

by Marcus Clarke

The best known of Clarke's Lost Child tales, which were extremely popular in nineteenth century Australian fiction. The story of a young boy who, despite warnings from his mother, ventures into the bush and becomes lost.

A grim tale which depicts the Australian bush as hostile, full of nameless terrors, ultimately destructive. It was widely admired in its time particularly for its ability to arouse strong sentiments without becoming maudlin.

16 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1873

About the author

Australian writer Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke, known as Marcus Clarke, was born in Kensington, London. His mother died when he was just a small child and he was raised by his father, a lawyer.
Marcus Clarke moved to Victoria, Australia, where he had an uncle in the provincial town of Ararat, and landed in Melbourne in June 1863. In 1869 Clarke married the actress Marian Dunn and shortly afterwards they started to raise a family of six children. He died of pleurisy at the age of thirty-five.

Reviews

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful although sad short story about a young boy who gets lost in the bush. As with other Australian stories, the bush itself is as much a presence as the people characters. Although it is daunting, it is not as threatening as it might be, but instead a combination of frightening and friendly/comfortable.

I guess this is mostly a cautionary tale to people who think they know the bush but are yet to learn everything it has to teach them... and possibly to their minders, although that seems less feasible