Legends from Benson's Valley

by Frank J. Hardy

Genres: Fiction

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Francis Joseph Hardy, or Frank, was an Australian left-wing novelist and writer best known for his controversial novel Power Without Glory. He also was a political activist bringing the plight of Aboriginal Australians to international attention with the publication of his book, The Unlucky Australians, in 1968. He ran unsuccessfully for the Australian parliament twice.

Reviews

[Vin · Rating 5 out of 5]

When released in 1963, one critic described it as the best book of Australian short stories published in the 20th century. A big call, so how do they stand up 56 years on? Very, very well. Hardy could write a short story crisply with characters clearly defined and fitting into a larger web of relationships in society than they might have been aware of. The working people, landlords, pub owners and others. Mateship and conflict are captured in sparkling dialogue while the author allows himself the occasional philosophical observation (e.g. Why buy a book when you can have the whole library). The stories reflect the characters of Hardy's youth so there is an Irish-English background to most characters, most of whom are male. Tony Birch and Sofie Laguna are great Australian writers of realist fiction today. They develop more complex characters than you'll find in Hardy, but write in a tradition leading back to him. International comparisons beckon too. Hardy reminds me of Richard Yates who wrote in the 1950s and Hardy's short story on "the Billiard Game" reminded me of Stefan Zweig's use of a chess game to provide the backdrop to the human drama in "The Royal Game".

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

Legends From Benson's Valley is a collection of short stories set in Benson's Valley Victoria during the great depression, or as the book refers to it, the hungry thirties.

I read the 1976 hardcover version published by Rigby, and like the original 1963 version it is expurgated, with swearing censored and the short story "The Eviction of Ernie Lyle" which appears in later editions also removed. It's uncertain when the publisher stopped expurgating the book, however the aforementioned short story does appear in 1984 versions published by Penguin.

The stories themselves are a mix of humour and general fiction which describe the battles of the average man during that time, the lack of work, lack of money, poor quality of unemployment food, poor housing and friction between the well off (or at least employed) and those who are unemployed.

It's an interesting glimpse into Australia of the past.