One of the great observers of Australian life, Henry Lawson looms large in our national psyche. Yet at his best Lawson transcends the very bush, the very outback, the very up-country, the very pub or selector's hut he conveys with such brevity and acuity: he make specific places universal. Henry Lawson is too often regarded as a legend rather than a writer to be enjoyed. In this selection Lawson is revealed as an author whose delightful, humorous, wry and moving short stories continue to delight generations of readers. This is the essential Lawson collection – the classic of Australian classics. 'Lawson's sketches are beyond praise.' Joseph Conrad 'Lawson gets more feelings, observation and atmosphere into a page than does Hemingway.' Edward Garnett

An innovative, imaginative work of biography, examining Bertha and Henry Lawson's marriage through a modern lens Henry Lawson was Australia's bush bard, a revered cultural icon, yet he descended into alcoholism, poverty and an early death. Many blamed his young wife, Bertha, for his personal and creative decline. And yet in April 1903, Bertha Lawson alleged in an affidavit that her husband was habitually drunk and cruel, leading her eventually to demand a judicial separation. In A Wife's Heart, Kerrie Davies provides a rare account of this tumultuous relationship from Bertha's perspective. Reproducing their letters – some of which have never been published – Davies takes us from the Lawsons' courtship, marriage and separation to Bertha's struggles as a single parent. While evoking a time when women's rights were advancing considerably, Davies also weaves in her own personal history to show how the emotions and challenges of marriage and single parenthood have remained the same. A Wife's Heart offers an intimate portrait of the Lawsons' marriage, examined through a modern lens. It is an innovative, imaginative work of biography that reflects on the politics of relationships and the enduring complexities of love.

The extraordinary rise, devastating fall and enduring legacy of an Australian icon Henry Lawson captured the heart and soul of Australia and its people with greater clarity and truth than any writer before him. Born on the goldfields in 1867, he became the voice of ordinary Australians, recording the hopes, dreams and struggles of bush battlers and slum dwellers, of fierce independent women, foreign fathers and larrikin mates. Lawson wrote from the heart, documenting what he saw from his earliest days as a poor, lonely, handicapped boy with warring parents on a worthless farm, to his years as a literary lion, then as a hopeless addict cadging for drinks on the streets, and eventually as a prison inmate, locked up in a tiny cell beside murderers. A controversial figure today, he was one of the first writers to shine a light on the hardships faced by Australia's hard-toiling wives and mothers, and among the first to portray, with sympathy, the despair of Indigenous Australians at the ever-encroaching European tide. His heroic figures such as The Drover's Wife and the fearless unionists striking out for a better deal helped define Australia's character, and while still a young man, his storytelling drew comparisons on the world stage with Tolstoy, Gorky and Kipling. But Henry Lawson's own life may have been the most compelling saga of all, a heart-breaking tale of brilliance, lost love, self-destruction and madness. Grantlee Kieza, the author of critically acclaimed bestselling biographies of such important figures as Banjo Paterson, Joseph Banks, Lachlan Macquarie and John Monash, reveals the extraordinary rise, devastating fall and enduring legacy of an Australian icon. PRAISE FOR GRANTLEE KIEZA OAM 'Engagingly written ... one of the most nuanced portraits to date' The Australian 'Vivid, detailed and well written' Daily Telegraph 'A staggering accomplishment that can't be missed by history buffs and story lovers alike' Betterreading.com.au 'A free-flowing biography of a great Australian figure' John Howard 'Clear and accessible ... well-crafted and extensively documented' Weekend Australian 'Kieza has added hugely to the depth of knowledge about our greatest military general in a book that is timely' Tim Fischer, Courier-Mail 'The author writes with the immediacy of a fine documentary ... an easy, informative read, bringing historic personalities to life' Ballarat Courier

Gold miners Andy, Dave and Jm are sinking a shaft at Stony Creek. After an unsuccessful day's fishing, they decide it would be easier just to blow the fish out of the water. But ther young dog becomes curious about their experiment, with explosive results!--Cover.