Project Gutenberg Australia a treasure-trove of literature treasure found hidden with no evidence of ownership

150th anniversary of publication of Darwin's Origin of Species. View Page images of this historic book.

"Such is Life"

This work is a fictional account of the life of rural dwellers, including bullock drivers, squatters and itinerent travellers, in southern New South Wales and Victoria, during the 1880s.

The book is comprised of a series of loosely interwoven stories of the various people encountered by the narrator as he travels about the countryside. At times the prose is difficult to understand because of the use of Australian vernacular and the author's attempt to convey the accents of Scottish and Chines personalities. This novel nevertheless provides a wonderful insight into the character of rural dwellers in Australia in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

---

Updated 4 August 04