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Lawson, Henry (1867 - 1922)

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Born
17 June 1867
Grenfell, New South Wales, Australia
Died
2 September 1922
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Summary

Lawson was born in Grenfell, New South Wales, growing up on his parents' selection often under difficult circumstances. His parents later separated and in 1883 Lawson joined his mother Louisa in Sydney and became influenced by her commitment to the republican movement. His first poem, 'A Song of the Republic', was published in the Bulletin in October 1887. In 1892, the Bulletin commissioned Lawson to travel to Bourke; although the trip was a brief one, it heavily influenced his short stories, including 'The Bush Undertaker'. Louisa published his early collection, Short Stories in Prose and Verse (1894). Lawson's best-known work - While the Billy Boils - was published by Angus and Robertson in 1896 and was soon regarded as an Australian classic. He married Berthe Bredt the same year and they travelled to New Zealand and England together, but returning to Sydney in 1902 the couple separated. Lawson's later life was plagued by ongoing financial debt, alcoholism and mental illness.

Published resources

Books

  • Lawson, Henry, Short stories in prose and verse, L. Lawson, Sydney, 1894, 96 pp. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, While the billy boils, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1896, 333 pp. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, On the track, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1900, 157 pp. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, Over the sliprails, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1900, 167 pp. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, Joe Wilson and his mates, Blackwood, Edinburgh, 1901, 334 pp. Details

Poetries

  • Lawson, Henry, Faces in the Street, A golden shanty : Australian stories & sketches in prose and verse, Bulletin Newspaper, Sydney, 1890, 135-138 pp. Details

Short Stories

  • Lawson, Henry, 'His Father's Mate', in A golden shanty : Australian stories & sketches in prose and verse, Bulletin Newspaper, Sydney, 1890, pp. 28-41. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'The Darling River', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 57-71. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'The Master's Mistake', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 152-155. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Mitchell on the 'Sex' and Other 'Problems'', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 145-151. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'The Selector's Daughter', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 129-144. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Seeing the Last of You', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 121-122. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'They Wait on the Wharf in Black', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 113-120. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Black Joe', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 104-112. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'New Year's Night', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 94-103. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'A Case for the Oracle', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 72-80. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'The Songs They Used to Sing', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 1-17. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'The Hero of Redclay', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 32-56. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'An Incident at Stiffner's', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 22-31. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'A Gentleman Sharper and Steelman Sharper', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 11-21. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'The Shanty-Keeper's Wife', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 1-10. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'A Daughter of Maoriland : A Sketch of Poor-Class', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 81-93. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Mitchell's Jobs', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 89-94. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'How Steelman Told His Story', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 153-157. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'An Oversight of Steelman's', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 145-152. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Payable Gold', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 137-144. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'A Rough Shed', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 128-136. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Mr Smellingscheck', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 123-127. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Two Larrikins', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 118-122. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Meeting Old Mates', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 108-117. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'The Story of the Oracle', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 156-167. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Bill, the Ventriloquial Rooster', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 95-101. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Two Boys at Grinder Bros', in Over the Sliprails, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 123-128. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'No Place for a Woman', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 75-88. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Mitchell on Women', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 69-74. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Mitchell on Matrimony', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 62-68. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'The Mystery of Dave Regan', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 57-61. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Middleton's Peter', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 45-56. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'The Iron-Bark Chip', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 37-44. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Andy Page's Rival', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 26-36. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'A Vision of Sandy Blight', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 18-25. Details
  • Lawson, Henry, 'Bush Cats', in On the track, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1900, pp. 102-107. Details

See also

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • Collection of manuscripts and correspondence of Australian authors 1864-1925 [manuscript], 1864 - 1925, NLA MS 3605; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

Rachael Weaver

Created: 19 July 2007, Last modified: 10 June 2015