Ben Hall the Bushranger is a 1947 Australian historical novel by Frank Clune about the bushranger Ben Hall. It tried to focus on Hall's motivations.[1]
He wrote this and Dark Outlaw as historical novels while researching his large non fiction book Wild Colonial Boys.[2][3]
The West Australian said "the romance and adventure... make an attractive narrative."[4]
Smith's Weekly said Clune "can give you the scenes, he can describe their faces, their huts, their names and tneir clothes. He can give a detailed and very stirring account of their actions. But when it comes to explaining their insides and what makes them tick, he is lost; they all "revert to type"; and that is the difference between the Australian of Francis Ratcliffe and the Australian of Frank Clune's various books on travels through Australia."[5]
The Sunday Times said it was "not a very deep character analy-sis - about half-way between actions and basic motives. And in places the story lumbers and the intelligence of the reader is under-estimated by pointing out tacticns that are obvious by the dialogue. Nevertheless, the book is well worth a place on anybody's shelf, for its historical as well as its entertainment value."[6]
ABC Weekly declared "Frank Clune has used both hands to apply his colours, and if at times the story degenerates into something of the old penny-dreadful it is alwavs interesting."[7]
References edit
- ^ "New Approach to Old Subject". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. No. 21, 998. New South Wales, Australia. 5 April 1947. p. 5. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "New Rooks Reviewed --". The Herald. No. 22, 338. Victoria, Australia. 24 December 1948. p. 6. Retrieved 15 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Back in the days of bushrangers". News. Vol. 52, no. 7, 928. South Australia. 1 January 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 15 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "New Novels". The West Australian. Vol. 63, no. 18, 952. Western Australia. 12 April 1947. p. 5 (SECOND EDITION.). Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Book Of The Month". Smith's Weekly. Vol. XXIX, no. 7. New South Wales, Australia. 12 April 1947. p. 25. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Book Reviews: Bushranging Background". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 2571. Western Australia. 1 June 1947. p. 23 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE SUNDAY TIMES). Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (26 April 1947), "NEW BOOKS REVIEWED", ABC Weekly, Sydney: ABC, nla.obj-1377729599, retrieved 16 April 2024 – via Trove
External links edit
- Ben Hall the Bushranger at AustLit