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Robbery Under Arms #1-2
Robbery under Arms / A Story of Life and Adventure in the Bush and in the Australian Goldfields
Robbery Under Arms is a bushranger novel by Thomas Alexander Browne, published under his pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood. It was first published in serialised form by The Sydney Mail between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in London in 1888. It was abridged into a single volume in 1889 as part of Macmillan's one-volume Colonial Library series and has not been out of print since.
It is considered a classic of Australian colonial literature, along with Marcus Clarke's convict novel For the Term of his Natural Life (1876), and has inspired numerous adaptations in film, television and theatre.
Writing in the first person, the narrator Dick Marston tells the story of his life and loves and his association with the notorious bushranger Captain Starlight, a renegade from a noble English family. Set in the bush and goldfields of Australia in the 1850s, Starlight's gang, with Dick and his brother Jim's help, sets out on a series of escapades that include cattle theft and robbery under arms.
The book begins with Dick sitting in gaol, with just under one month before his scheduled execution for his crimes. He is given writing material, and begins documenting his life's story.
He starts with his childhood, with a father (Ben) who is prone to violence, particularly when he has been drinking; his mother, his sister (Aileen) and brother, Jim. He documents his first exposure to his father's crimes, the theft of a red calf, and the disapproval of this crime by his mother, who says she thought he had given up stealing since the theft which led to his transportation as a convict from England. Dick's first active involvement in crime, comes where the brothers choose to go cattle duffing (stealing), even though an offer of solid, honest work had been made with neighbour and friend, George Storefield. The divergent lives of the brothers to that of George is a recurring theme of the book from this point forward, as they continue to meet up at different points throughout the story's course. This first theft includes their introduction to Captain Starlight, his Aboriginal assistant, Warrigal, and their hideaway, Terrible Hollow.
Further thefts follow, leading up to the brazen theft of 1000 head, driven overland to Adelaide with Starlight. After the success of this adventure, the brothers "lie low" in Melbourne, where they meet the sisters, Kate and Jeanie Morrison. The brothers return to home for Christmas, leading to incarceration and trial of Dick and Starlight. (The magistrate chooses to refer to Starlight only by this nickname, at the Captain's request). Warrigal helps Dick and Starlight escape to Terrible Hollow. The gang later has its first stage holdup.
The brothers then move to the Turon goldfields. Their prosperity through honest, hard work gives them the chance for escape from the country to start a new life overseas. Jim is re-united with Jeanie Morrison and marries her. Dick meets Kate Morrison again, but her tumultuous nature leads her, in an angry mood, to alert the police to their presence, and they narrowly escape capture and return to the safety of Terrible Hollow.
Read this complete famous novel for further story....
It is considered a classic of Australian colonial literature, along with Marcus Clarke's convict novel For the Term of his Natural Life (1876), and has inspired numerous adaptations in film, television and theatre.
Writing in the first person, the narrator Dick Marston tells the story of his life and loves and his association with the notorious bushranger Captain Starlight, a renegade from a noble English family. Set in the bush and goldfields of Australia in the 1850s, Starlight's gang, with Dick and his brother Jim's help, sets out on a series of escapades that include cattle theft and robbery under arms.
The book begins with Dick sitting in gaol, with just under one month before his scheduled execution for his crimes. He is given writing material, and begins documenting his life's story.
He starts with his childhood, with a father (Ben) who is prone to violence, particularly when he has been drinking; his mother, his sister (Aileen) and brother, Jim. He documents his first exposure to his father's crimes, the theft of a red calf, and the disapproval of this crime by his mother, who says she thought he had given up stealing since the theft which led to his transportation as a convict from England. Dick's first active involvement in crime, comes where the brothers choose to go cattle duffing (stealing), even though an offer of solid, honest work had been made with neighbour and friend, George Storefield. The divergent lives of the brothers to that of George is a recurring theme of the book from this point forward, as they continue to meet up at different points throughout the story's course. This first theft includes their introduction to Captain Starlight, his Aboriginal assistant, Warrigal, and their hideaway, Terrible Hollow.
Further thefts follow, leading up to the brazen theft of 1000 head, driven overland to Adelaide with Starlight. After the success of this adventure, the brothers "lie low" in Melbourne, where they meet the sisters, Kate and Jeanie Morrison. The brothers return to home for Christmas, leading to incarceration and trial of Dick and Starlight. (The magistrate chooses to refer to Starlight only by this nickname, at the Captain's request). Warrigal helps Dick and Starlight escape to Terrible Hollow. The gang later has its first stage holdup.
The brothers then move to the Turon goldfields. Their prosperity through honest, hard work gives them the chance for escape from the country to start a new life overseas. Jim is re-united with Jeanie Morrison and marries her. Dick meets Kate Morrison again, but her tumultuous nature leads her, in an angry mood, to alert the police to their presence, and they narrowly escape capture and return to the safety of Terrible Hollow.
Read this complete famous novel for further story....
461 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1882
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
July 25, 2011
Previous rating 4 stars
Going through my bookshelves doing the annual clean up, as you do, I came across my well worn copy of Robbery Under Arms (one of the few novels I will never 'clean out'). I got to thinking, what rating did I give this and did I ever review it. So on here I come, to see a 4 star rating and no review of one of my all time favourite Australian classics. Up it goes to 5 stars, followed by a review.
I have read this story from cover to cover 3 times. It is a slow paced story in its essence. The reason for this being that in order to immerse oneself in the good old Australian way of live before the turn of the 20th Century one must enjoy the bush life. Bush rangers, cattle thieves and of course, those upright and tight citizens of colonial times. The description is unlike that of anything you will read today because being written in 1888 the Australia as we know it did not exist. Hence the slow pace. Life was slow then compared to now. This does not make it boring by any stretch of the imagination.
Based on the Marston family and their progression from the life of farmers to that of highway men, this story craftily intertwines them with Captain Starlight. When published in the newspapers, in installments, Browne (Bolderwood) had characterised Starlight and Co. to a point where the public thought him and them real. This was due to his first hand experience with bush rangers. It is this real life experience that comes through, grabs you and sucks you into the story to such a level that you can vividly picture settings, characters and plot line or you just damn well want to be there!
I am all for this becoming a set text in the classroom once again!
Going through my bookshelves doing the annual clean up, as you do, I came across my well worn copy of Robbery Under Arms (one of the few novels I will never 'clean out'). I got to thinking, what rating did I give this and did I ever review it. So on here I come, to see a 4 star rating and no review of one of my all time favourite Australian classics. Up it goes to 5 stars, followed by a review.
I have read this story from cover to cover 3 times. It is a slow paced story in its essence. The reason for this being that in order to immerse oneself in the good old Australian way of live before the turn of the 20th Century one must enjoy the bush life. Bush rangers, cattle thieves and of course, those upright and tight citizens of colonial times. The description is unlike that of anything you will read today because being written in 1888 the Australia as we know it did not exist. Hence the slow pace. Life was slow then compared to now. This does not make it boring by any stretch of the imagination.
Based on the Marston family and their progression from the life of farmers to that of highway men, this story craftily intertwines them with Captain Starlight. When published in the newspapers, in installments, Browne (Bolderwood) had characterised Starlight and Co. to a point where the public thought him and them real. This was due to his first hand experience with bush rangers. It is this real life experience that comes through, grabs you and sucks you into the story to such a level that you can vividly picture settings, characters and plot line or you just damn well want to be there!
I am all for this becoming a set text in the classroom once again!
November 3, 2018
For a story about bushrangers this sure was boring. Also racist and sexist, even for the time period it was written in. I believe at one point the narrator says that women need to be starved like dogs to appreciate what they have. Also apparently women are only capable of experiencing two emotions while men are much more complex. No thanks.
August 20, 2014
My impression of Robbery Under Arms is one of appreciation that such a book exists. Boldrewood (or Browne, as that was his actual name) captures the setting and spirit of colonial Australia during the middle of the 19th Century, as it happened. The book captures the feeling of that remote colony and his writing captures the dialect of a people that worked apart from the Old World to make Australia their home.
From there, there is a feeling of kinship that grows from the similarities that exist between the history of the American West and those of this then-distant land. This book is filled with cattle, ranchers, horses, towns, cowboys, ranges and mountains. Had the story been set in Oklahoma the spirit these things would have changed very little. But while the actions that drive this book could have been written by Elmore Leonard or Zane Grey, they weren't. This book, through-and-through, is uniquely Australian.
The central theme gives rise to considerations of justice. Does the doling out of punishment that simply fits the crime, regardless of circumstances, truly balance the scales held in the hand of justice? Or are the scales held aloft as a distraction for that other item she holds in her other hand? Society controls punishment and those outside of society have little say in it's application. Thus, mercy is more of a man-made miracle with respect to just punishment and the finger of society forever rests upon the scales.
The tone of the book is truly sincere. It's no spoiler to say that the story is told from the first-person perspective of a condemned man and from his narrative the reader grows to understand this man's path towards his fate. The narration is matter-of-fact and deliberately avoids gimmicks such as mystery, suspense, and over-played action. This approach allows the reader to focus on the acts and circumstances of the characters and to better understand the story of the condemned.
From there, there is a feeling of kinship that grows from the similarities that exist between the history of the American West and those of this then-distant land. This book is filled with cattle, ranchers, horses, towns, cowboys, ranges and mountains. Had the story been set in Oklahoma the spirit these things would have changed very little. But while the actions that drive this book could have been written by Elmore Leonard or Zane Grey, they weren't. This book, through-and-through, is uniquely Australian.
The central theme gives rise to considerations of justice. Does the doling out of punishment that simply fits the crime, regardless of circumstances, truly balance the scales held in the hand of justice? Or are the scales held aloft as a distraction for that other item she holds in her other hand? Society controls punishment and those outside of society have little say in it's application. Thus, mercy is more of a man-made miracle with respect to just punishment and the finger of society forever rests upon the scales.
The tone of the book is truly sincere. It's no spoiler to say that the story is told from the first-person perspective of a condemned man and from his narrative the reader grows to understand this man's path towards his fate. The narration is matter-of-fact and deliberately avoids gimmicks such as mystery, suspense, and over-played action. This approach allows the reader to focus on the acts and circumstances of the characters and to better understand the story of the condemned.
August 4, 2020
For all his cross doings, Dick Marston will be hanged in a month.
Dick has ruined many lives besides his own. There is enough adventure in this book for 10 westerns. In addition to the crimes and getaways, Dick often ruminates on his life. His ruminations are an odd mixture of fatalism, regret, and solipsism.
Die--die--yes, die; be strung up like a dog, as they say. I'm blessed if ever I did know of a dog being hanged, though, if it comes to that, a shot or a bait generally makes an end of 'em in this country. Ha, ha! Did I laugh? What a rum thing it is that a man should have a laugh in him when he's only got twenty-nine days more to live--a day for every year of my life.
Dick has ruined many lives besides his own. There is enough adventure in this book for 10 westerns. In addition to the crimes and getaways, Dick often ruminates on his life. His ruminations are an odd mixture of fatalism, regret, and solipsism.
March 26, 2018
To enjoy this book, read a chapter a week. That's about a pleasant pace. Put it down often and really try to imagine the society sights, the sounds, and even the smells.
Don't rush it, don't obsess, I've cost myself some sweet dreams by slogging it out. Not that that was my original intention, my mind changed after finding the story content contemptibly familiar. I wish the author had written more about music, how that was back 150 years beyond my imagination.
Not the best aussie book I've read, The Amazing Life & Adventures of William Buckley takes that trophy.
A novel in the Social Realist style (I reckon). Ironically, it is less realistic for the effort. Depictions of attitudes are rather expressions of platitudes, those lonely souls in the bush who take to drink to escape the boredom rarely reflect upon themselves as they are drinking, as lonely souls in the bush who took to drink to escape boredom. When they drink wouldn't it be sex & violence on their minds? To be clear, the honest effort really does come out of these pages, wildlife and customs, sounds and societies of the gold-fields and such-like are encompassed in the effort by Mr. Boldrewood to describe the totality of his experience.
Two major crimes are covered, let me now share these two delightful pieces of Australiana. The first is the theft of 1,000 cattle. This is an approximate number, and the convicts who undertook this act of villainy were captured & convicted by evidence in the form of a white bull. Mr. Boldrewood seems to have a over-balanced view of the crime, tar on all and targets for all. The second crime, is the robbery of the bank. The real equivalent was the Kelly Gang, who first bound all the local police before robbing the bank and perhaps had a few beers at the town's public house before departing.
Don't rush it, don't obsess, I've cost myself some sweet dreams by slogging it out. Not that that was my original intention, my mind changed after finding the story content contemptibly familiar. I wish the author had written more about music, how that was back 150 years beyond my imagination.
Not the best aussie book I've read, The Amazing Life & Adventures of William Buckley takes that trophy.
A novel in the Social Realist style (I reckon). Ironically, it is less realistic for the effort. Depictions of attitudes are rather expressions of platitudes, those lonely souls in the bush who take to drink to escape the boredom rarely reflect upon themselves as they are drinking, as lonely souls in the bush who took to drink to escape boredom. When they drink wouldn't it be sex & violence on their minds? To be clear, the honest effort really does come out of these pages, wildlife and customs, sounds and societies of the gold-fields and such-like are encompassed in the effort by Mr. Boldrewood to describe the totality of his experience.
Two major crimes are covered, let me now share these two delightful pieces of Australiana. The first is the theft of 1,000 cattle. This is an approximate number, and the convicts who undertook this act of villainy were captured & convicted by evidence in the form of a white bull. Mr. Boldrewood seems to have a over-balanced view of the crime, tar on all and targets for all. The second crime, is the robbery of the bank. The real equivalent was the Kelly Gang, who first bound all the local police before robbing the bank and perhaps had a few beers at the town's public house before departing.
May 1, 2019
Unexpectedly wonderful! I just adored this book about the exploits and fates of a group of bushrangers in New South Wales in mid-nineteenth century Australia. I found the characters, the story, the portrayal of colonial Australia and the language of the time mesmerising.
The bulk of the action takes place around 1851 and is narrated by the central character Dick Marston while he is in gaol awaiting death by hanging. From the beginning you know that Dick ends up a condemned man and from there he tells the story of the events that led to that fate.
I found the characters to be wonderfully written and they felt real to me. I cared about them and kept hoping against all probability that things would turn out right for them. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time that I read this book, fearing that at any minute Dick, his brother Jim and the leader of the gang of outlaws - Starlight - would meet their fates. I found the ending highly satisfying as well.
This book is a wonderful insight into Australia at this time in its history and I highly recommend it.
The bulk of the action takes place around 1851 and is narrated by the central character Dick Marston while he is in gaol awaiting death by hanging. From the beginning you know that Dick ends up a condemned man and from there he tells the story of the events that led to that fate.
I found the characters to be wonderfully written and they felt real to me. I cared about them and kept hoping against all probability that things would turn out right for them. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time that I read this book, fearing that at any minute Dick, his brother Jim and the leader of the gang of outlaws - Starlight - would meet their fates. I found the ending highly satisfying as well.
This book is a wonderful insight into Australia at this time in its history and I highly recommend it.
October 14, 2022
Zapomniałem ocenić w zeszłym tygodniu...😁
May 12, 2025
Great beginning that starts dragging badly about a third of the way in... I ended up skimming the 2nd half as it became repetitious and boring. I'd imagine when written, and published as a serial over 12 months, it would've been amazing.
Want to Read
March 12, 2024Free download available at Project Gutenberg
May 28, 2019
"Robbery under arms is a bushranger novel by Thomas Alexander Browne, published under his pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood, It was first published in serialized form by The Sydney Mail between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in London in 1888. It was abridged into a single volume in 1889 as part of Macmillan's one-volume Colonial Library series and has not been out of print since." (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbe... 28 May 2019)
In this famous Australian novel, a young man, Dick Marston, who has been condemned to hang, writes down the sorry tale of his drift into crime and outlawry. This is a ripping yarn of cattle-duffing (rustling, in American parlance), gaol-breaking, bank robbery, highway robbery, and audacious confidence trickery, leavened with a good deal of Dick's rather monotonous lamentation of the poor choices he has made in his life. Marston's partners in crime are an English gentleman known as Captain Starlight, Starlight's sinister aboriginal servant Warrigal, Dick's decent but haplessly loyal brother Jim, and his reprobate father, a transported Lincolnshire poacher, every single one of them a consummate bushman and horseman.
An important challenge, for a novelist constructing a narrative from the point of view of a felon, is to engage the sympathy of normally law-abiding readers, to make the reader's guilty pleasure in audacious crime feel less guilty. Boldrewood's chief protagonists, though outlaws, are constructed according to approved 19th-century norms of masculine virtue: Starlight is every inch a gentleman, by birth and in his conduct; the Marston brothers, though of more humble origins, are presented as young men of thoroughly decent feelings and character. Masculinity is constructed in a very conventional way; courage, fortitude, honour, and chivalry. The notion of chivalry informs all relations, good and bad, between the sexes. Young men may fall in love, but there is nary a whiff of actual sex anywhere in the narrative. The conduct of even the worst of men in the presence of women appears pretty tame: when Moran, Burke, and Daly hold the Whitman women at gunpoint, the boorish Moran at first confines himself to compelling the eldest Miss Whitman to play the piano and sing, while he and his companions drink themselves into a stupor; later when Moran, demanding a dance from Miss Falkland, puts his arm around her, he crosses a line beyond which Boldrewood will not permit him to go, and Jim gallantly rescues her, knocking Moran's head so hard against a wall that he falls down unconscious.
While readers may wink at cattle-duffing, gaol-breaking, and tying up bank-clerks and troopers at gunpoint, it is more difficult to deflect the gravity of murder. The survivors of the bounty hunters who have come close to discovering the Marston Gang's life-saving bolt-hole, the Terrible Hollow, are killed in cold blood by Dan Moran (who remains unaware of what he is protecting). Though Starlight and the Marstons are tainted in the eyes of the public by this crime, only Marston senior was actually there. The murder of Sergeant Hawkins is quite a different case. The robbery of the Turon Goldfield escort began with an ambush; many shots were fired and Sergeant Hawkins, who was driving the wagon, was shot dead in the first volley. Dick later rationalizes the killing: "We were all sorry for Sergeant Hawkins, and would have been better pleased if he'd been only wounded like the others. But these sorts of things couldn't be helped. It was the fortune of war; his luck this time, ours next." His justification is that, as outlaws, the gang are at war, and combatants are licensed to kill enemy combatants by whatever means serve that end. I don't buy it. This is cold-blooded murder, and grievous bodily harm to the troopers who weren't killed. Nobody was forced to fire on the escort. I know nothing of the revisions which were made between the original serialized Robbery under Arms and the single-volume 1889 edition, but I'd place a small bet that the scene at the Turon Goldfields (which is never really explained), in which Moran fixes his gaze on the trooper (a sergeant) driving the escort wagon, was added later to suggest to the reader that Hawkins' murderer is Moran: "As for Moran, we could see him fix his eyes upon the sergeant who was driving, and look at him as if he could look right through him. He never took his eyes off him the whole time, but glared at him like a maniac". Thus the Marstons and Captain Starlight are exculpated in the mind of the reader, and they remain acceptably wholesome characters for whom allowances may be made.
High adventure has been an almost exclusively masculine affair in English-language fiction until quite recently, so it is to Boldrewood's credit that there are so many women in the novel, some of them quite strong and active characters. Aileen Marston, sister of Dick and Jim, works the family farm, rides well, knows her own mind, and is capable of making bold decisions; while I suspect some feminists will deplore the fate that the novel assigns to her, it is plausibly a fate of her own choosing, given her background and the times, and in no sense an emblematic punishment for presumptuous agency. Women within the Marston circle, with the single exception of Kate (explicitly presented as a bad lot), have hearts of gold and are unfailingly loyal to their menfolk. When men and women relax together, they mostly sing around the piano and make jolly banter. I suspect that English readers of Robbery under Arms would have found these colonial women attractively free of airs and pretense.
The novel's single indigenous character is not sympathetically presented, always seething with ill-concealed hostility to the Marston brothers. His name, Warrigal, is a Dharuk (Eora) word meaning "wild dingo", but which in Australian English may be loosely applied to wild horses, wild dogs, wild men, or even uncultivated plants (Tetragonia tetragonoides a.k.a. warrigal greens). The parallel between Starlight's servant Warrigal and Marston senior's dog Crib is not easily missed; both are reckoned to have a more than common degree of intelligence and initiative ("sagacity" was once a popular word for such qualities in an animal), both suffer occasional harsh beatings at the hands of their master, and both are loyal to the point of adoration. I don't think I'm stretching a point if I state that Warrigal is presented as an intelligent and useful working animal, like Crib. Apart from Warrigal, Australian indigenous people exist in the novel only as trackers assisting the police. Boldrewood was a man of his time.
The adventures and escapes of the Marston Gang make very entertaining reading, and Dick Marston's narrative voice, while sometimes a little quaint, carries the tale along well. The gentleman highwayman may seem a bit of a cliché, but perhaps it wasn't so when this was written. It is no surprise that Robbery under Arms has never been out of print. It's a thoroughly enjoyable adventure story with a range of well-drawn bush characters, and town ones too. If it's a bit operatic in places, I won't knock it for that. If you're looking for a cracking good adventure story, this is hard to beat.
In this famous Australian novel, a young man, Dick Marston, who has been condemned to hang, writes down the sorry tale of his drift into crime and outlawry. This is a ripping yarn of cattle-duffing (rustling, in American parlance), gaol-breaking, bank robbery, highway robbery, and audacious confidence trickery, leavened with a good deal of Dick's rather monotonous lamentation of the poor choices he has made in his life. Marston's partners in crime are an English gentleman known as Captain Starlight, Starlight's sinister aboriginal servant Warrigal, Dick's decent but haplessly loyal brother Jim, and his reprobate father, a transported Lincolnshire poacher, every single one of them a consummate bushman and horseman.
An important challenge, for a novelist constructing a narrative from the point of view of a felon, is to engage the sympathy of normally law-abiding readers, to make the reader's guilty pleasure in audacious crime feel less guilty. Boldrewood's chief protagonists, though outlaws, are constructed according to approved 19th-century norms of masculine virtue: Starlight is every inch a gentleman, by birth and in his conduct; the Marston brothers, though of more humble origins, are presented as young men of thoroughly decent feelings and character. Masculinity is constructed in a very conventional way; courage, fortitude, honour, and chivalry. The notion of chivalry informs all relations, good and bad, between the sexes. Young men may fall in love, but there is nary a whiff of actual sex anywhere in the narrative. The conduct of even the worst of men in the presence of women appears pretty tame: when Moran, Burke, and Daly hold the Whitman women at gunpoint, the boorish Moran at first confines himself to compelling the eldest Miss Whitman to play the piano and sing, while he and his companions drink themselves into a stupor; later when Moran, demanding a dance from Miss Falkland, puts his arm around her, he crosses a line beyond which Boldrewood will not permit him to go, and Jim gallantly rescues her, knocking Moran's head so hard against a wall that he falls down unconscious.
While readers may wink at cattle-duffing, gaol-breaking, and tying up bank-clerks and troopers at gunpoint, it is more difficult to deflect the gravity of murder. The survivors of the bounty hunters who have come close to discovering the Marston Gang's life-saving bolt-hole, the Terrible Hollow, are killed in cold blood by Dan Moran (who remains unaware of what he is protecting). Though Starlight and the Marstons are tainted in the eyes of the public by this crime, only Marston senior was actually there. The murder of Sergeant Hawkins is quite a different case. The robbery of the Turon Goldfield escort began with an ambush; many shots were fired and Sergeant Hawkins, who was driving the wagon, was shot dead in the first volley. Dick later rationalizes the killing: "We were all sorry for Sergeant Hawkins, and would have been better pleased if he'd been only wounded like the others. But these sorts of things couldn't be helped. It was the fortune of war; his luck this time, ours next." His justification is that, as outlaws, the gang are at war, and combatants are licensed to kill enemy combatants by whatever means serve that end. I don't buy it. This is cold-blooded murder, and grievous bodily harm to the troopers who weren't killed. Nobody was forced to fire on the escort. I know nothing of the revisions which were made between the original serialized Robbery under Arms and the single-volume 1889 edition, but I'd place a small bet that the scene at the Turon Goldfields (which is never really explained), in which Moran fixes his gaze on the trooper (a sergeant) driving the escort wagon, was added later to suggest to the reader that Hawkins' murderer is Moran: "As for Moran, we could see him fix his eyes upon the sergeant who was driving, and look at him as if he could look right through him. He never took his eyes off him the whole time, but glared at him like a maniac". Thus the Marstons and Captain Starlight are exculpated in the mind of the reader, and they remain acceptably wholesome characters for whom allowances may be made.
High adventure has been an almost exclusively masculine affair in English-language fiction until quite recently, so it is to Boldrewood's credit that there are so many women in the novel, some of them quite strong and active characters. Aileen Marston, sister of Dick and Jim, works the family farm, rides well, knows her own mind, and is capable of making bold decisions; while I suspect some feminists will deplore the fate that the novel assigns to her, it is plausibly a fate of her own choosing, given her background and the times, and in no sense an emblematic punishment for presumptuous agency. Women within the Marston circle, with the single exception of Kate (explicitly presented as a bad lot), have hearts of gold and are unfailingly loyal to their menfolk. When men and women relax together, they mostly sing around the piano and make jolly banter. I suspect that English readers of Robbery under Arms would have found these colonial women attractively free of airs and pretense.
The novel's single indigenous character is not sympathetically presented, always seething with ill-concealed hostility to the Marston brothers. His name, Warrigal, is a Dharuk (Eora) word meaning "wild dingo", but which in Australian English may be loosely applied to wild horses, wild dogs, wild men, or even uncultivated plants (Tetragonia tetragonoides a.k.a. warrigal greens). The parallel between Starlight's servant Warrigal and Marston senior's dog Crib is not easily missed; both are reckoned to have a more than common degree of intelligence and initiative ("sagacity" was once a popular word for such qualities in an animal), both suffer occasional harsh beatings at the hands of their master, and both are loyal to the point of adoration. I don't think I'm stretching a point if I state that Warrigal is presented as an intelligent and useful working animal, like Crib. Apart from Warrigal, Australian indigenous people exist in the novel only as trackers assisting the police. Boldrewood was a man of his time.
The adventures and escapes of the Marston Gang make very entertaining reading, and Dick Marston's narrative voice, while sometimes a little quaint, carries the tale along well. The gentleman highwayman may seem a bit of a cliché, but perhaps it wasn't so when this was written. It is no surprise that Robbery under Arms has never been out of print. It's a thoroughly enjoyable adventure story with a range of well-drawn bush characters, and town ones too. If it's a bit operatic in places, I won't knock it for that. If you're looking for a cracking good adventure story, this is hard to beat.
May 19, 2014
I have been travelling solo the last few days and took along this CD audio abridged edition for the long 7 hour drive to Albury NSW. What a treat this turned out to be and for a bit of serendipity the story is set around the very area that I travelled and then stayed. The Snowy Mountains provides beautiful scenery with its stark and rocky landscape and I could imagine Captain Starlight and his bushrangers riding through the hills on their many adventures and escapades. Actor John Stanton provides the narration and delivers a very lively rendition of this classic Australian story.
September 6, 2009
This is a beaut Aussie tale of bold, bad bushrangers which reads surprisingly well for its age. See http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/200...
February 4, 2015
A great work of Australian writing. Filled with adventure and is also a moral story.
April 23, 2023
I really enjoyed this old-fashioned tale set in the mid-1800s in colonial Australia with adventures in bushranging and goldmining. The story explores themes of family, pursuit of adventure versus the 'settled' life, and the nature of justice in a surprisingly sophisticated manner. I really liked the way the book captured the Australian landscape, everyday life, as well as the customs and language of people at that time, noting that it was first published in the 1880's. The book is over 400 pages, and times I found it a little slow, particularly some of the introspection of the protagonist. However, there was real value in spending time working through his musings and reflections on choices rather than just focusing on the 'what happens next' elements of the story. The characters were well developed, credible and engaging and the adventures and action parts of the story were handled well, and not 'over-dramatised'. The simple language and authentic tone made this an easy and enjoyable read.
September 2, 2024
Książka na bank godna polecenia!
Chociaż czytałam ją z pewnymi przerwami, mam z nią praktycznie same dobre wspomnienia. Idealna na wakacyjne rozprężenie i relaks.
Jej objętość dużo wynagradza m.in. fabułą, urokiem i ciekawymi zwrotami akcji. Ja bynajmniej podczas czytania jej nie czułam nudy ani znużenia, praktycznie cały czas coś się działo i nie dało się uczuć jakiejkolwiek monotonni.
Autor bardzo ciekawie opowiada tę historię z perspektywy jednego bohatera, Dicka Marstona lub jak kto woli Ryszarda.
Dzieło o wiele różni się od książek z czasów obecnych i za tą odmienność najbardziej ją pokochałam.
Gorąco polecam fanom westernu!
Przeżyjcie swoją własną przygodę z tą książką na dzikim łonie australijskiej natury, wśród historii prostych ludzi, łotrów dobrych i tych znacznie mniej, poganiaczów bydła, poszukiwaczy złota, stróżów prawa i buszrangerów.
Chociaż czytałam ją z pewnymi przerwami, mam z nią praktycznie same dobre wspomnienia. Idealna na wakacyjne rozprężenie i relaks.
Jej objętość dużo wynagradza m.in. fabułą, urokiem i ciekawymi zwrotami akcji. Ja bynajmniej podczas czytania jej nie czułam nudy ani znużenia, praktycznie cały czas coś się działo i nie dało się uczuć jakiejkolwiek monotonni.
Autor bardzo ciekawie opowiada tę historię z perspektywy jednego bohatera, Dicka Marstona lub jak kto woli Ryszarda.
Dzieło o wiele różni się od książek z czasów obecnych i za tą odmienność najbardziej ją pokochałam.
Gorąco polecam fanom westernu!
Przeżyjcie swoją własną przygodę z tą książką na dzikim łonie australijskiej natury, wśród historii prostych ludzi, łotrów dobrych i tych znacznie mniej, poganiaczów bydła, poszukiwaczy złota, stróżów prawa i buszrangerów.
June 17, 2025
I can’t believe I’ve never read this Australian classic until now. Skim read it while baby sitting tonight. It’s a thick one, hence the skim read. That, and the fact that I found quite a lot of the book was familiar. I guess even though I hadn’t read it, I’d been exposed through school, conversations, pop references etc.
I was shocked to realise that Captain Starlight was a character in a novel - and then worked out that this character was inspired by a particular daring robbery of one of the TWO Captain Starlights. Reading a bit about the author was also enjoyable.
Anyway, if you are looking for an enjoyable read that helps you understand the bushranger period of Australian history, I strongly recommend this one.
LOVE the first sentence of the novel, and smiled at the twist at the end. :-)
I was shocked to realise that Captain Starlight was a character in a novel - and then worked out that this character was inspired by a particular daring robbery of one of the TWO Captain Starlights. Reading a bit about the author was also enjoyable.
Anyway, if you are looking for an enjoyable read that helps you understand the bushranger period of Australian history, I strongly recommend this one.
LOVE the first sentence of the novel, and smiled at the twist at the end. :-)
April 2, 2021
This is a long story told by a protagonist on death row who deserved to be where he was. The story is deliberately rough in its language, and is complex, human and credible. The characterisation is convincing with variety and intrigue, with few stereotypes, which that era was understandably prone to. I learnt a fair bit about early Australian (European) life. I note one reviewer disliked "sexist" passages, however, if the story, told by a dark character in Victorian times, had displayed modern egalitarian views it would have totally lacked credibility. Genteel readers beware. The end was relatively long giving the author plenty of time to blow it and spoil the book, but he didn't, and produced an ending that stirred me at least.
August 7, 2026
Dick Marston and his brother Jim followed in the family business. Unfortunately, the family business involved robbing others. Bushrangers may have been more prevalent than people liked to believe, but few got to notoriety of the Marstons and Starlight. But how long can one thwart the law before the law descends on them en force?
Finally slogged through this one. The story was intriguing if heartrending in many ways, but as the author wrote the perspective of a poorly educated man, sometimes the prose aggravated my inner editor. She really can ruin a good story when she wants. Still an interesting read for perspective.
Finally slogged through this one. The story was intriguing if heartrending in many ways, but as the author wrote the perspective of a poorly educated man, sometimes the prose aggravated my inner editor. She really can ruin a good story when she wants. Still an interesting read for perspective.
September 10, 2026
Classic
A ripping yarn. My favourite aspect of the story was the Australian slang. Some of it was familiar to me. People around here still say "gammon" when joking, for example. I grew up in the bush, so the cattle work sounds the same, except I rode a motorcycle, not a horse. It's great to read a book set in Australia. I loved the psychological insights of the author about the nature of people.
A ripping yarn. My favourite aspect of the story was the Australian slang. Some of it was familiar to me. People around here still say "gammon" when joking, for example. I grew up in the bush, so the cattle work sounds the same, except I rode a motorcycle, not a horse. It's great to read a book set in Australia. I loved the psychological insights of the author about the nature of people.
December 4, 2020
I love this book. I read it many years ago, and thinking about it still fills me with warmth, as the characters are so enjoyable to read. Although, it is sometimes a dark story, set in a bleak Australian world, where cattle rustling is a part of everyday life, and so has many obvious dangers attached.
A very gripping book.
A very gripping book.
November 29, 2022
Told in a colloquial and Australian manner, which perfectly suited the time and theme of the story, giving a very authentic feel. The tale was gripping and exciting from start to finish, driven by a strong plot.
I found myself becoming attached to the main characters, and while the final shootout was occurring my heart was in my throat - definitely the sign of a great book.
I found myself becoming attached to the main characters, and while the final shootout was occurring my heart was in my throat - definitely the sign of a great book.
May 21, 2024
This is classic Australian literature in its finest form. Follows the life of Dick Morton, captain starlight, Jim Morton and their father Ben.
Written around the 1860s, it’s stylist typical of the period. In spite of its age, the story is riveting and reflective of the era.
Deathly a worthwhile read.
Written around the 1860s, it’s stylist typical of the period. In spite of its age, the story is riveting and reflective of the era.
Deathly a worthwhile read.
June 22, 2020
Well, that was a long, slow, gruelling read. A classic of Australian literature, yes, but slow going, and written in an almost incomprehensible dialect. I ended up learning a lot about Australian dialects and bushrangers' cant in the process.
August 23, 2021
What a fantastic book!!! A fast paced story of Bushrangers - stealing, holding up coaches, etc. And set in the local area where I live. Which made it all the more interesting to read. Highly recommended.
July 8, 2022
Enjoyed the book and its tales of bushrangers in the late 1800's, but the book was long, long, long with repetitive tales of close-calls with the police and subsequent escapes to their hideaway valley. It could have done with some editing to trim it down.
July 13, 2023
Loved the sweeping saga of the writing. Language is dated and some references would be unacceptable today. The redemptive tones are interesting as are the enduring bonds of family and friendship. Recommended for those who like classics. Reminded me of LORNA DOONE.
December 10, 2021
Don't think this is so dated that it's not worth reading. Much of formative Australia is on show. It's well-written and introspective. Much worthwhile here on the Australian character.
December 10, 2023
This was a very long read, and I almost gave up.
If you are struggling, it is worth remembering this was originally printed a chapter at a time, so it was helpful to read at chapter increments
If you are struggling, it is worth remembering this was originally printed a chapter at a time, so it was helpful to read at chapter increments
July 21, 2024
True to form. Cowboy culture down under and a good story to boot.
May 17, 2025
A semi-interesting story in the early days of Australia and the descent into crime of a father and two brothers, along with their wicked friends.
Although they have other opportunities, the Marston brothers are lured into the illegal world of cattle thievery and increasing the stakes later with robbing stagecoaches and killing security forces in the process.
Narrated from the viewpoint of a death-row convict, it is only mildly interesting, possibly based on some insights into the life of the narrated era.
Although they have other opportunities, the Marston brothers are lured into the illegal world of cattle thievery and increasing the stakes later with robbing stagecoaches and killing security forces in the process.
Narrated from the viewpoint of a death-row convict, it is only mildly interesting, possibly based on some insights into the life of the narrated era.
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