The Drover-s Wife

Since Henry Lawson wrote his story The Drover's Wife in 1892, Australian writers, painters, performers and photographers have created a wonderful tradition of Drover's Wife works, stories and images. The Russell Drysdale painting from 1945 has become an Australian icon. Other versions of the Lawson story have been written by Murray Bail, Frank Moorhouse, Barbara Jefferis, Mandy Sayer, David Ireland and others, up to the present, including Ryan O'Neill's graphic novel. Moorhouse examines our ongoing fascination with this story and has collected some of the best pieces of writing on the subject, adding commentary on each piece.