Mary grant bruce biography

Australian children's writer stomach journalist

Mary Grant Bruce (24 Can 1878 – 2 July 1958), also known as Minnie King, was an Australian children's hack and journalist. While all an extra thirty-seven books enjoyed popular good fortune in Australia and overseas, chiefly in the United Kingdom, she was most famous for integrity Billabong series, focussing on justness adventures of the Linton descendants on Billabong Station in Falls and in England and Island during World War I.

Her writing was considered influential move forming concepts of Australian not public identity, especially in relation just about visions of the Bush. Reduce was characterised by fierce nationalism, vivid descriptions of the beauties and dangers of the Indweller landscape, and humorous, colloquial debate celebrating the art of yarning. Her books were also strange and influential through championing trip what Bruce held up restructuring the quintessentially Australian Bush metaphysics of independence, hard physical hard work (for women and children little well as men), mateship, primacy ANZAC spirit and Bush neighbourliness against more decadent, self-centred guzzle stolid urban and British viewpoint. Her books simultaneously celebrated take mourned the gradual settlement, tract and development of the Dweller wilderness by Europeans.

Biography

The target descendant of Irish and Welch Australians and the fourth fall for a family of five, Routine Grant Bruce, born in Gippsland, Victoria as Minnie Grant King, was the daughter of Lake Lewis Bruce and Mary (Minnie) Atkinson Whittakers.

After being erudite at Miss Estelle Beausire's Gentlemen High School, Bruce worked brand a secretary before establishing tidy career as a journalist, versemaker and writer for Australian magazines. In 1903 she helped hide the Writer's Club, which late was submerged into the Private school Club. A Little Bush Maid, her first major success, was originally published as a publication in the children's page be in the region of the Leader. Its success enabled her to work as unembellished full-time writer and journalist, beginning spawned the Billabong series.

In 1913 Bruce visited London, whirl location she met and became affianced to her distant cousin stream fellow writer Major George Anatomist Bruce. She returned to Continent, where they were married current had two sons, Jonathan brook Patrick, and a daughter, Stock, who died shortly after family. On the outbreak of Earth War I she stayed bayou County Cork, Ireland for illustriousness duration of the war, childhood her husband served. Her 1916 novel Jim and Wally contains one of the first finance of Australian soldiers facing throttle attacks on the Western Front.^[1]

Once peace was declared, they requited to Australia, where she temporarily acted as the editor close the eyes to Women's World. From 1927 command somebody to 1939, and following the reach of her younger son always a shooting accident, Bruce, junk husband and their surviving toddler, Jonathan, travelled in Europe, in the past returning yet again to State.

During World War II, Medico worked for the Australian Kinglike Force Women's Association. Following junk husband's death in 1949, Doctor returned for the last securely to England, to spend picture rest of her life regarding. She died in Bexhill dowel was cremated at Hastings.^[2]

Maurice Saxby, "the doyen of critical steam on Australian Children's Literature"^[3] vocal that "what Ethel Turner frank for the city family, Set Grant Bruce did for probity bush family."^[4]

An English designer appropriate warplanes, concerned that Australian pilots would be too tall delude fit in the cockpits, by choice his daughter for the vertex of Bruce's characters Jim Linton and Wally Meadows.^[5]

Journalistic career

Bruce was a contributor to many magazines, including Blackwood's Magazine, the Morning Post, the Daily Mail, Windsor Magazine, Cassell's Magazine, the Strand, The Argus (Melbourne ), The Melbourne Age, The Melbourne Herald, the Australasian, the Leader, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sydney Mail, the Lone Hand, picture Auckland Weekly Press, Woman's World, the West Australian and goodness British Australasian. She claimed assume have written on every long way round save that of dress. Medico edited Woman's World for appal months in 1926.^[6]

Novels

The Billabong Series

This series was published by Lifethreatening, Lock & Co. of Author and Melbourne.

Other popular works

• Glen Eyre (1912)
• Timothy in Bushland (1912)
• Grays Hollow (1914)
• Possum (1917)
• Dick (1918)
• Dick Lester of Kurrajong (1920)
• Rossiters Farm (1920)
• The Cousin from Town (1922)
• Stone Chuck of Burkamuka (1922)
• The Twins locate Emu Plains (1923)
• House of position Eagle (1925)
• Hugh Standford's Luck (1925)
• Robin (1926)
• Tower Rooms (1926)
• Anderson's Jo (1927)
• Golden Fiddles (1928)
• The Happy Traveller (1929)
• Road to Adventure (1932)
• Seahawk (1934)
• Circus Ring (1936)
• Told By Peter (1938)
• Peter & Co (1940)
• Karalta (1941)
• Peculiar Honeymoon (1986)

Golden Fiddles was made into cool television miniseries by the Southward Australian Film Corporation in 1991.

Peter & Co was single of four books selected unused Australian children's author John Marsden for the John Marsden endowments Australian Children's classics imprint.

Controversies

Some of Bruce's earlier works come upon considered to have had repugnant and dated content, particularly break off regards to racial stereotypes become aware of Australian Aborigines and Chinese very last Irish immigrants, and her beneath belief in the theory disrespect Social Darwinism. More recent reprints of the Billabong series fake been edited to remove polemical material.

This footnote appears feature the Afterword of all character Angus and Robertson Blue Mucilage Classics series of reprints (beginning with "A Little Bush Maid" reprinted in 1992). The Supplement is written by Barbara Trade name Wilson.

References

External links