Capricornia

by Xavier Herbert

Angus and Robertson, 1959, illustrated endpapers (maps), hardcover, dustjacket

Very Good Condition, a little edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing to edges and corners, previous owners inscription on front endpaper, dustjacket shows some edge and shelf wear with some rubbing, bumping, creasing and small tears (see photographs)

“Capricornia has made Xavier Herbert’s name as creative artist and social historian.  In this sprawling, turbulent novel he presents a picture of Australia’s north that seizes and assaults the imagination – a fictitious but authentic picture charged with the immense vitality of its author and its subject.
The subject is the half-caste problem – life in the raw, colour prejudice, brutality, intolerance.  The temper of the author is passionate and ironic, realistic and humorous, dramatic and challenging.  Xavier Herbert’s knowledge of the aborigines as well as of the white settlers of the north gives point and poignancy to a tale that is both tragic and illuminating.
Capricornia was the Sesquicentenary Prize Novel in 1938, and was awarded the Australian Literature Society’s medal in 1939.  Its validity and literary importance appear to grow with the years.”

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