In Bad Company, and Other Stories

The Australian bush comes alive in this collection of short stories from 1901. At its heart is Bill Hardwick, a shearer whose hands know wool and hard work, whose life is about to be upended by ideas more dangerous than any drought. As shearing season approaches, Bill navigates a changing world. His neighbor struggles. His wife Jenny holds fast to old ways. Then Janus Stoate arrives with radical socialist ideas that threaten to split the shed and the community. Boldrewood captures a moment when Australia itself was being sheared of its old identity - when unions and employers squared off, when a man had to choose between loyalty and principle. These are stories of the outback: its roughness, its decency, its political awakenings. Thirty-five tales plus six essays, most published here for the first time, offering a window into a young nation's growing pains. For readers who want Australian literature that feels like the real thing - not the romantic version, but the version with dust in its teeth.