The Broad Arrow
Being Passages from the History of Maida Gwynnham, a Lifer
Published on 1. February 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
338 pages
978-1-920899-74-5 (ISBN)
Description
Caroline Leakey, writing as Oline Keese, published her first and only novel, The Broad Arrow, in 1859. It tells the story of Maida Gwynnham, a young middle-class woman lured into committing a forgery by her deceitful lover, Captain Norwell, and then wrongly convicted of infanticide. The novel's title describes the arrow that was stamped onto government property, including the clothes worn by convicts - a symbol of shame and incarceration. With its 'fallen woman' protagonist, its gothic undertones and its exploration of the social and moral implications of the penal system, this little-known novel gives an insight into a significant chapter of Australian history from a uniquely female perspective.
In this new critical edition, editor Jenna Mead restores material that was cut for a radically abridged version in 1886, restoring for the first time in over a century the complete original text of Leakey's important work.
In this new critical edition, editor Jenna Mead restores material that was cut for a radically abridged version in 1886, restoring for the first time in over a century the complete original text of Leakey's important work.
Reviews / Votes
'The Broad Arrow is much more than a romantic story ... the main Van Diemen's Land part is absorbing ... every page tells the reader something about the colony. This is an important book for the historian and for anyone interested in nineteenth century Tasmania.' -- Alison Alexander * Papers and Proceedings: Tasmanian Historical Research Association * 'This new edition of The Broad Arrow is not just the definitive edition of a hugely important colonial novel which should be read on its own terms, but is a valuable contribution to textual scholarship, and will undoubtedly remain a reference work for years to come.' -- Tim Causer * Journal of Australian Colonial History * "Altogether, Mead's critical edition of The Broad Arrow is a welcome, comprehensive and assiduously researched investigation of the history of a narrative that reinforces interest in material and literary histories of nineteenth-century Australian fiction. Moreover, Mead graciously refrains from any unnecessary adulation of Leakey's work and successfully situates The Broad Arrow at an intersection of various literary, cultural and historical trajectories that open up significant new avenues of enquiry." -- Narelle Ontivero * Australian Literary Studies *More details
Series
Edition
Annotated edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Sydney
Australia
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Annotated edition
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
9 b&w ill., 1 table
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 178 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
837 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-920899-74-5 (9781920899745)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Caroline Woolmer Leakey (Oline Keese) was born in Exeter, England in 1827. She received limited schooling during her childhood, but read avidly, particularly poetry. While living in Van Diemen's Land with her sister, she began to write poetry, and she published her only volume of poetry Lyra Australis, or Attempts to Sing in a Strange Land in 1854. She died in 1881.
Jenna Mead is a senior honorary research fellow at the University of Western Australia.
Jenna Mead is a senior honorary research fellow at the University of Western Australia.
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction
A Note on the Text
A Note on the Illustrations
Preface
Volume 1
1. The festival
2. Maida Gwynnham
3. Captain Norwell
4. The felon
5. Bob Pragg
6. Mary Doveton
7. The reverend Herbert Evelyn
8. Too late
9. The Cousins
10. The lie
11. The Rose of Britain
12. Lucy Grenlow's tale
13. Mulgrave battery and the lodge
14. The paraclete
15. Uncle Ev and uncle Ev's notions
16. Doubts on more subjects than one
17. A walk about Hobarton and a talk about the tasmanians
18. Aunt Evelyn and family matters
19. Being nothing particular
20. H.M.S. Anson
21. The initiation - without
Volume 2
22. The initiation - within
23. Being one about Bridget
24. The post office
25. A T.L.
26. The conflict
27. An old acquaintance
28. H.M. General Hospital, Hobarton
29. Port Arthur - O.P.S.O. - The Kangaroo
30. Port Arthur - the settlement
31. A day dream and night vision
32. The isle of the dead
33. Accepted
34. Bridget again
35. The awakening - more victims
36. Maida
37. Norwell
Summary of minor variants
Notes
Bibliography
Introduction
A Note on the Text
A Note on the Illustrations
Preface
Volume 1
1. The festival
2. Maida Gwynnham
3. Captain Norwell
4. The felon
5. Bob Pragg
6. Mary Doveton
7. The reverend Herbert Evelyn
8. Too late
9. The Cousins
10. The lie
11. The Rose of Britain
12. Lucy Grenlow's tale
13. Mulgrave battery and the lodge
14. The paraclete
15. Uncle Ev and uncle Ev's notions
16. Doubts on more subjects than one
17. A walk about Hobarton and a talk about the tasmanians
18. Aunt Evelyn and family matters
19. Being nothing particular
20. H.M.S. Anson
21. The initiation - without
Volume 2
22. The initiation - within
23. Being one about Bridget
24. The post office
25. A T.L.
26. The conflict
27. An old acquaintance
28. H.M. General Hospital, Hobarton
29. Port Arthur - O.P.S.O. - The Kangaroo
30. Port Arthur - the settlement
31. A day dream and night vision
32. The isle of the dead
33. Accepted
34. Bridget again
35. The awakening - more victims
36. Maida
37. Norwell
Summary of minor variants
Notes
Bibliography