Colonial Australian Fiction: Character Types, Social Formations and the Colonial Economy

Abstract

Over the course of the 19th century a remarkable array of character types appeared – and disappeared – in Australian literature: the swagman, the larrikin, the colonial detective, the bushranger, the ‘currency lass’, the squatter, and more. Some had a powerful influence on the colonies’ developing sense of identity; others were more ephemeral. But all had a role to play in shaping and reflecting the social and economic circumstances of life in the colonies.