Swords and Crowns and Rings

by Ruth Park

She was the banker's daughter, a highborn, golden beauty. He was a grocer's son, strong and proud, but fate had masked his strength and pride with a form that set him forever apart from other men. Compelling need drew them together, A bewitching fantasy encircled and sustained them. Then the Great Depression swept across Australia to impoverish the rich, humble the proud, and turn the poor into a stunned army of desperate vagrants and homeless vagabonds. Expelled from their enchated realm, brutally seperated, they each clutched a secret, a promise a dream of finding each other in a harsh world where only a perfect love like theirs could survive, overcome and triumph.

Genres: Australia, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics, Novels, 20th Century, Historical

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Ruth Park was a New Zealand-born author, who spent most of her life in Australia. She was born in Auckland, and her family later moved to Te Kuiti further south in the North Island of New Zealand, where they lived in isolated areas.

During the Great Depression her working class father worked on bush roads, as a driver, on relief work, as a sawmill hand, and finally shifted back to Auckland as council worker living in a state house. After Catholic primary school Ruth won a partial scholarship to secondary school, but this was broken by periods of being unable to afford to attend. For a time she stayed with relatives on a Coromandel farming estate where she was treated like a serf by the wealthy landowner until she told the rich woman what she really thought of her.

Ruth claimed that she was involved in the Queen Street riots with her father. Later she worked at the Auckland Star before shifting to Australia in 1942. There she married the Australian writer D'Arcy Niland.

Her first novel was The Harp in the South (1948) - a story of Irish slum life in Sydney, which was translated into 10 languages. (Some critics called it a cruel fantasy because as far as they were concerned there were no slums in Sydney.) But Ruth and D'Arcy did live in Sydney slums at Surry Hills. She followed that up with Poor Man's Orange (1949). She also wrote Missus (1985) and other novels, as well as a long-running Australian children's radio show and scripts for film and TV. She created The Muddle-Headed Wombat series of children's books. Her autobiographies are A Fence Around the Cuckoo (1992) and Fishing in the Styx (1993). She also wrote a novel based in New Zealand, One-a-pecker, Two-a-pecker (1957), about gold mining in Otago (later renamed The Frost and The Fire).

Park received awards in Australia and internationally.

Winner of the Dromkeen Medal.

Reviews

[Judith Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness - this is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I was almost overwhelmed at times. Ruth Park and her husband D'Arcy Niland were both passionate about writing, and lived lives dedicated to their art - for me, they both write with not only tremendous skill, but also with a deep and abiding compassion and humanity.

Swords and Crowns and Rings has a magnificent main protagonist in the person of Jackie Hanna, whose experience of being born a dwarf is beautifully portrayed, but whose story is much more than this. He is one of many people whose characters are superbly painted by Ruth Park in this glorious book, set in early 20th century Australia, ending in the terrible Depression of the 1930s. Stunning, just stunning. I can't wait to read the rest of the Park and Niland canon.

Five stars only, because there's not a button for more!

[Malcolm Frawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, this is Ruth Park's masterpiece. And that's really saying something considering she also wrote The Harp In The South trilogy & several other wonderful novels. It is also, for me, one of the greatest ever Australian novels; probably the greatest. I first read it in 1985 & would have given it 5 stars then. On 2nd read I wish there were more than 5 stars to give. Park inhabits the hearts, minds & souls of her ordinary, working folk as transcendentally as John Steinbeck (The Grapes Of Wrath) & Emile Zola (Germinal, The Earth). Her flair for character & relish of language drew this reader in effortlessly & swept me into the lives of Jack & Cushie as they span the years from 1907 to 1932. The wonder years of their childhoods are contrasted powerfully with their grown up experiences as victims of the Great Depression & Park chronicles how working people suffered the most disastrous consequences as a result of decisions they had no part in making. The combination of scintillating writing & heart-breaking humanity will keep this story alive in my memory forever. If you are yet to dip your toes into Park world, wait no longer.

[ᗩᑎᗪᖇᗴᗯ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rated by teenaged me. I read and re-read this book in high school between 1982 and 1984. The cover (different to those available on Goodreads) and title attracted my attention in our school library and I picked it up thinking it was a fantasy novel and still believing it to be so after misinterpreting the blurb on that edition.

Jackie and Cushie lived on in my heart/mind/somewhere for years afterwards. I bought a copy a few years ago and I'm in two minds about re-reading it now as I like it being a happy memory from my teen years.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. An interesting, engaging historical fiction novel about Jackie Hanna, a dwarf, and his childhood sweetheart, Cushie Moy. The book captures the mood and tempo of Australian life from 1907 until 1931. The last third of the book describes the life of the homeless and poor during the depression years, 1930 and 1931.

Jackie experiences a lot of hardship, struggling to find work, with employers unwilling to give him a job because of his lack of height. Cushie also experiences hardship from her mother in particular. When Cushie’s mother learns of Cushie having a romantic relationship with Jackie, a dwarf, Mrs Moy, stops Cushie from seeing Jackie.

Jackie grew up with a very supportive mother and step father. Jackie’s step father, Jerry McNunn, is a very likeable character.

Highly recommended.

Winner of the 1977 Miles Franklin Award.

[Kaye McSpadden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when it first came out, over 30 years ago, and I remember love LOVE LOVING it. The story of Jack, a young man with dwarfism in Australia during the depression, and his childhood love, Cushie, is engaging and enchanting. And although Park did a great job of depicting the wild and harsh setting of Australia of the 20s and 30s, the themes of the story -- including loneliness, cruelty, kindness, resilience, love, and loyalty -- are universal.

Having now read it three decades later, I find that it still holds up as a very good book with an excellent, unique and memorable story. However, I didn't find myself loving it as much as before. Maybe I've become a pickier reader in my old age, but I was annoyed by two things. First, there was soooo much Australian lingo in the story, I wish there had been a glossary. At times, this was a real problem as it interferred with basic understanding. (Of course, if I had an e-reader, perhaps I could easily look those words up.) Second, I became annoyed with the last chapter, as I impatiently awaited the reunion of Jack and Cushie. The interjection of political turmoil at that point seemed to serve little purpose other than delay. And finally, it seemed to me that their reunion, after all that had happened in the intervening years, warranted much more than just a few paragraphs. The reader is left with the feeling that the story should not have ended there.

Still, even with those criticisms, I really enjoyed it (once again). I still love the basic story and thus have no problem giving this book 4 stars. If Park had simply added a glossary and an extra chapter at the end, it would easily rate a 5.

[Anne Fenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars for this Miles Franklin winning book. It's a strange mixture. Park loves writing, being a writer, and she certainly has plenty of writing skills. Her work is dense, almost overwritten in her effort to be very descriptive, imaginative and factual all at once. Her plot suggests she wanted to include every possible aspect of life in 1920s and 30s Australia: urban and rural, rich and poor, men and women, able and disabled , old and young , phew! Written in the 1970s, her presentation of being a dwarf was probably very compassionate at the time . Now it grates. The story involves swooping ups and downs for the main characters, Cushie, a well off girl, and Jack Hanna, a dwarf. Sex and violence, incest, abortion, death and suffering are all adult concepts but the novel seems shallow, almost Young Adult in the way it handles these things. It's a long read, I needed to push myself to finish it but I'm interested in Ruth Park as I'm reading her autobiography at present. Her YA books of the 1970s, Playing Beatie Bow and My Sister Sif were both fantastic, and her Muddleheaded Wombat series is charming.

[Andrew Vh · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love Harp in the South you will enjoy this.
I love Ruth Park's concise yet emotive writing. She deals with themes of poverty and disadvantage in early 20th century Australia in a brutally honest way. In this book she provides a fascinating account of the Great Depression in Australia and the years leading up to it. Park, however, keeps the narrative focused on the emotional lives of real people, which means the deeply historical aspects of her writing never get boring (or preachy). In many respects, Park's exposition feels more accurate (and interesting) than formal textbook history.
Ruth Park character's are born into difficult circumstances and she makes them suffer terribly, while celebrating their very ordinary lives. Despite these often dire circumstances, there is a peculiar joyousness and hope (without drifting into over-sentimentality) underpinning everything Park writes. It is this 'realism with heart' I admire the most about her writing.
An excellent read with an important dollop of history to boot. Not quite a good as Harp of the South -one of the best Australian books - but not far behind.

[Shellie Whild · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartwarming story. Jackie has such courage and inner strength despite all the tragedies in his life. I enjoyed reading of his relationship with Jerry, his Dad, especially in the latter quarter of the book when they had lost almost everything but each other. In fact, I think I sympathised with Jerry more than Jackie who had youth, intelligence and a receptive mindset on his side. Poor old Jerry had a lot to overcome and his perception of his own self-worth was severely depleted by the drastic changes in lifestyle the Depression brought. A wonderful window into a bygone era of Australia, this book brought memories of listening to stories of my mother and grandmother's lives in Darwin, how primitive many aspects of their day to day lives were. I smiled when Jerry reminded Jack about his mother's habit of always burning the toast, and recalled fondly my grandfather's skilled old hands with a toasting fork. Sad in many places yet still I found much beauty within the pages of 'Swords and Crowns and Rings'.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swords and Crowns and Rings is the enchanting story of Jackie Hanna, a dwarf, and Cushie Moy, whose friendship as children matures into a love that survives hardship, misunderstanding and a social chasm that would separate lesser mortals. They spend their childhood in an unremarkable Australian country town before World War I, where Jackie grows up believing that he can do and be anything. His step-father, Jerry Hanna, (‘the Nun’), is the rock on which this solid family life is based; Peggy Hanna (who should surely be played by Anne Phelan in the TV series that begs to be made) is his indefatigable mother. Together they keep a grocer’s shop, not smart enough for the Moys, who patronise the Hannas and express alarm that Dorothy (Cushie) might learn ‘common expressions’. (p24)

To see the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/200...

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only became acquainted with this author's work earlier this year when I read 'The Harp in the South 'trilogy. This work is equally evocative. I became addicted to the book and couldn't wait to find out what each chapter had to offer. Must be honest and say if you are after a cheerful read dodge this little number.
Park is brilliant at describing the early years of the 20th century. Life was grim but even more so for Jacky Hannah, a dwarf and Cushie Moy, his childhood friend and eventually lover.
Tragedy after tragedy separates them. The Depression hits Australians hard. I learnt a lot about this terrible era.
Cushie finds a backbone and defies her greedy, miserable mother and Jacky loses his innocence to manipulative treacherous relatives and then suffers unbearable loss after coming to terms with his imposed circumstances.
Makes what we complain about look pathetic.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would win all the awards going if it had been written this year. It stands the test of time well. This was one of the first books I read when I first came to Australia 30 years ago. And I still love it. If you haven't read any Ruth Park, do yourself a favour! And if you haven't read any in a while,likewise.

[Anthony Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this over 30 years ago when I was about 15, and it absolutely blew me away. I just logged on to see if anyone else enjoyed it like I did. Definitely time for a re-read I reckon.

[Louise McOrmond-Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, harsh, heartbreaking, wonderful book. An all-time favourite of mine - thoroughly engrossing as we follow Jackie and Cushie through their lives.

[John]

Published in 1977 whereas The Harp in the South was Park’s serious debut novel in 1948, but there are strong resemblances. This too reads almost like a documentary of life in the Great Depression and how people treated difference: Jack the protagonist is a dwarf, but paints him from a kind of multicultural perspective, emphasizing his strong positive human characteristics not his differences. Most other people didn’t see him that way, as was no doubt th case in the 20s and 30s. He grew up with two wonderful parents who taught him to believe in himself. The girl next door, Cushie Moy, and he were so close, “two sides of the same coin” despite her snobbish parents objecting strongly to their friendship. Jack was desperate to prove his own worth and after find it difficult to get a job locally, got a job as a farm hand to the Linz family, all of whom were sadists, all except for daughter Maida. They beat Jack up badly, he returns hi, but is ashamed of his cowardice and incredibly returns. This time they welcome him – for Maida is pregnant. They marry and for a while are very happy, with a baby boy Carl. But that ends in tragedy, for which Jack is blamed all started by Maida’s horribly young brother. He returns to his father, his mother very ill but Jack wrong reputation makes life impossible. He and Jerry his father seek work in the country but again disaster strikes. This gives Park the chance to paint the sociology of the Depression and those hardest hit by poverty and unemployment. Meantime Cushie is in Sydney with relatives and she has her trials and tribulations. Jack and his father end up in Sydney and we are treated with Jack Lang’s politics, the riots and hardships there. A picaresque novel, where each stopping off place illustrates politics and people. It is in sections, with Jack as protagonist and the Cushie. Her voice doesn’t quite come across and things slow up, complicated by strings of relatives, while in Jack’s case attention rarely flags. The end is easily guessed. Some very fine writing and imagery but it could be edited down a bit without loss. But at least you get a clear picture of what the Depression was like for the unfortunate. The book might easily have been called “Injustice” for injustices appear on nearly every page.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Birthday Book #80 from my friend Diana. This was actually the first of many books she sent me for my birthday, but as I have been randomly choosing from the list, I didn't get to it until now. It's a treasure! A wonderful story of star-crossed childhood sweethearts torn apart by time and circumstance during the Depression in Australia. Even though I've seen little of Australia (just Melbourne and Sydney), the book really made the rural settings vivid. While the basic premise of rich girl/poor boy seems pat, the twist is that Jackie is a dwarf, in love with pretty and rich Cushie. But Jackie is never made to be a "freak" despite what outsiders think of him. He struggles to find work, has the same struggles and tragedies as anyone else, losing his wife and child, his mother, his home. I was really broken up by the middle part of the story most of all, when Cushie and Jackie lost each other and had to endure their own crises alone. The ending was a bit abrupt, I would have rather had more of their reunion than the socio-political things Jackie went through in Sydney, but overall I really enjoyed this book.

[Niki E · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a grand, expansive novel that won the 1977 Miles Franklin Award, covering big themes: love, family, disability, social history, economics, class, abuse, politics - perhaps Park, writing 40 years after the era, threw too much at it; all of her memories, and her research and newspaper articles. Towards the end it started to feel too much. For me, the strength was in the first half, particularly the section in which Jackie works with his relatives in their fruit orchards and the beautiful writing when he and Cushie spend a dream-like week alone together. The second half felt like Park’s Australian take on Steinbeck, with a real Grapes of WrathXMice And Men vibe: the Depression, unemployed, on the road, dreams of a better life, two migrant workers - one disabled but competent, the other older and weakened. The amount of old Australian phrases and slang was immense; some I recognised and hadn’t heard for decades, but modern readers might find a glossary useful, I think.
Ruth Park is a brilliant Australian Realist writer; I studied a lot of her work at school, and it’s a bit sad she isn’t as well known now.

[Vivienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this years ago, so long ago that I had completely forgotten the story but remembered that I liked it . . . and now I see why and also why this book won the Miles Franklin Award in 1977.
Like all of Ruth Park's books, this is a cracking story that really seems to capture the atmosphere of Australia and the attitude of Australians between 1907 and 1931, especially, in the last section of the novel, the Depression years.
Jackie Hanna, the central character, is a dwarf and much of the story focuses on his treatment and his feelings and the way he deals with life. He is a very likeable character as is, in particular, his stepfather Jerry MacNunn. Also central to the story is the harshness of life in the Australian bush (and later in Sydney at that time) and the role played by women of the era: we meet some especially colourful characters in Jack's childhood sweetheart Cushie Moy's female relatives.
The inevitability of life's hardships is portrayed but also a sense of resilience and joy in life. Amidst the harshness and cruelty there is also a great sense of decency and humanity.
I must reread some of Ruth Park's other classics! ****+

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a Miles Franklin winner in the 1970s, a story about a dwarf who was coming of age in the depression in the early 1930s. At its heart, the book tells an entertaining story. Without pushing an overt agenda, Ruth Park tells a powerful story about the injustices of life in Australia during that era. Each of the characters seem very real, trying to work their way through a broken world in the Depression. Without being condescending or pushing an agenda, the book captures life during the depression in Sydney and rural NSW, places that are completely transformed today, but it doesn’t take much to use your imagination to conjure up the atmosphere of the city at that time, even if you wander around Sydney today. The dry observations about the futility of government policy and social injustices still have resonance today. Ruth Park also captures so many timeless aspects of Sydney life and culture which still apply today. I agree with many other reviewers that this is a masterpiece, equally good as Harp in the South.

[Jordan Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jackie Hanna (dwarf) and Cushie Moy are from Australia, Kingsland and they separate in childhood and reunite years later. Very interesting book, enjoyable and not overly complicated. You learn to appreciate the difficulties Jackie with his disabilities had in the early 20th century and how he overcame it. Also his devoted love towards Cushie and how he never gave up on her and his love for her. Moral of the story - never give up.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The historical background to this story of life in the Depression era in Australia as compared to life in Australia now, should be taught to every student. 33% unemployment, meagre support, families evicted and starving; it was quite horrific. The comparison between Jack’s home life and that of his aunt’s family was grotesque. How Jack and his step-father stayed true to themselves was remarkable and made them heroes in my book.

[Lisa J Shultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quote on the front cover says it surpasses The Thorn Birds. I don't quite agree. It was interesting but I liked The Thorn Birds more. It was a saga that I actually got weary of reading towards the end but at least it had a bit of a satisfying conclusion. I need that in a book! I had hoped to learn more about Australia, and I didn't learn much. It was more about the people than the country.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was completely different to what I was expecting, but that may be a good thing. Jack Hannah's story is wide and tragic and joyful and the stories of his loves are bleak and haunting. The novel explores the Depression period of Australian history through both rich and poor characters and it is quite a ride. I found this novel deeply interesting.

[Robyn Holthouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was one of those books that will remain with me forever! No wonder it won the Miles Franklin! I adore Ruth Park she forged my mindset from the Muddle headed wombat to the Harp in the South to Poor Mans Orange - I aspire to her brilliance xoxo

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beguiling love story so perfectly of its time and place

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this

[Karlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written

[Melissa Morrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book. The imagery and details are beautiful and the characters and their stories so real and moving.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Winner of the 1977 Miles Franklin Award
Swords and crowns and rings tells the story of two young people born in an Australian country town before World War 1 13 pretty Cushie Moy (born to a comfortable family with the stereotypical socially ambitious mother who has married down) and the dwarf, Jackie Hanna (whose background is well and truly working class). Not surprisingly, Cushie 19s parents frown on the friendship which develops between the two. This is not an innovative story but, rather, good historical fiction with evocative writing and sensitive character development. Consequently, as you would expect, the two are separated just as they realise their love for each other. Not long after discovering their love for one another, Cushie becomes pregnant and to avoid a scandal, is packed off to relatives in Sydney where she undergoes an abortion. After this time, she seems to drift, dabbling with alcohol and struggling to find meaning with her life.The book then chronicles their respective lives 13 Cushie with various relations in Sydney and Jackie in a number of country locations before he too reaches Sydney. In fact, he is later seduced by his stepfather's sister's daughter and is forced into marrying her. It is only much later, that we learn that he was tricked and the stillborn baby was not in fact his. Later after conceiving and giving birth to another child, his wife and baby are killed in a tragiv bushfire. Not knowing what to do, he returns to "Nun" his stepfather and the two try and carve out a living/survive in the weary days of the Great Depression. Much of the book takes place during the early 1930s Depression. Park gorgeously evokes the hardships 13 physical, economic and emotional 13 experienced by people like Jackie and his step-dad 1Cthe Nun 1D as they struggle to support themselves. All this is underpinned by Park 19s thorough knowledge of the social and political history of the time: we learn about labour organisations and the rise of socialism, of that irascible politician 1CBig Fella 1D Jack Lang, and of the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The resolution is predictable 13 it is, after all, a book of its genre 13 but it is not over-sentimentalised (Cushie finds Jackie asleep and hungary in the parks of Sydney where she has been handing out food) and is not achieved before the characters, Jackie in particular, have matured to the point that we can trust that he not only deserves what will come but that he will continue to work and mature for the betterment of himself and those he loves. It is truly a powerful book about human nature, as well as about the place and time in which it is set.

[Brona's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Miles Franklin Award aims to celebrate a novel each year that 'is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases.'

Swords and Rings and Crowns is all of this.

There is nothing experimental or challenging about the format or structure of the book. It is straight forward historical fiction with a coming of age element and some romance. But it is beautifully realised.

Park's writing is evocative and authentic. She brings the hardships and the details of Depression era NSW to life so vividly that you can feel the hunger, the cold and the fear along with her characters. However, the bleakness of the times was compensated for by the warmth and grace of her central characters.
Full review here - http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/20...

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The five stars I've given this book indicate how much I enjoyed the story. This certainly isn't a great book, but, in spite of its length, I enjoyed it all. It seemed like a mixture of Great Expectations and The Worst Hard Time, set in Australia. An unusual aspect of the story is the physical deformity of the protagonist, an achondroplastic dwarf. Although somewhat like a soap opera, the story does revivify depression-era New South Wales, bring to life the politics of the time, and introduce a few nuanced characters. I may well want to hear this story again, because I found it excellent entertainment!