Biography of a Book traces the life of an iconic Australian
literary work in the lead-up to its initial publication--and for a
century after. While the Billy Boils was Henry Lawson's first story
collection and remains an archetypal classic of Australian
literature. Paul Eggert's book-historical case study has
far-reaching implications for the methods of literary study. Eggert
not only revives the long-neglected concept of the literary work
but also broadens it to incorporate reading practices, historical
readerships, and the material forms of works that readers actually
encountered.
Eggert shows how Lawson's famous collection came out at a
decisive moment for the development of a fully professional
Australian literary publishing industry, then in its infancy in
Sydney. The volume's editing, design, and production were
collaborative events that changed the feel and nature of Lawson's
writing. The book went on to be reprinted and repackaged countless
times. Its production and reception histories act like a geological
cross section, revealing the contours of successive cultural
formations in Australia. In unraveling the life of Lawson's classic
work, Eggert's book-historical approach challenges and clarifies
established understandings of crucial moments in Australian
literary history and of Lawson himself.
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