The Uses of Literacy in Colonial Australia - (Anthem Studies in Australian History) by Martyn Lyons (Hardcover)

About the Book

Relying on autobiographical documents, this book analyses what Australians read in the 19th century, as well as what they wrote, in terms of personal and everyday, non-literary writings. It emphasises the Britishness of colonial society, without forgetting specifically Australian inflections of readers' responses. Australian reading embraced wide-ranging tastes.

Book Synopsis

Examines what Australians read and wrote during the long nineteenth century, exploring their responses to the novels, poetry and non-fiction that inspired them, and the everyday writings of ordinary people, including diaries, letters and other personal documents

What did Australians read? This book answers this question in terms of books rather than newspapers and considers the long nineteenth century, interpreted as running from 1788 to 1901. In the wake of this primary question, several others arise: how did Australians acquire the books they read, and how did readers in the outback overcome the handicaps of distance and remoteness? Did they read for pleasure, instruction, self-edification, or spiritual sustenance? More importantly, how did Australian readers respond to the books they read? The evidence is drawn from autobiographical sources, in which individual readers related their personal reading experiences and responses.
At the same time, the book pursues a second and related question: What did Australians write? Reference is made here not to the kind of writing we know as 'literature', but to the non-literary writing which cultural historians call 'ordinary writings'. These are the writings of everyday life, represented in this book by diaries, journals, hand-written newspapers and correspondence. The focus is wide enough to include the everyday cultural practices of people of low social status and little education. The writing practices of the partially literate, including writing delegated to a third party, have their place here.
In this double investigation, the book draws on evidence from a cohort of 101 nineteenth-century readers and writers. They are a heterogeneous group of autobiographers, coming from Melbourne and Sydney to rural Queensland and Western Australia. They come from the city and the bush, from coastal towns and the interior, from sheep stations, gold diggings and city offices. They show us the perennial importance of Shakespeare and the Bible, the popularity of the English canon, the prestige of poetry and the importance of religious reading. Books held the Empire together but, as they travelled, their meanings changed according to the local cultural environment. This book registers such nuances in the Australian context. The writing of this group is represented by some prolific diarists and correspondents. In the late-nineteenth century, the eastern colonies became world leaders in sending letters. The postal environment which made this possible is also examined.

Review Quotes

Martyn Lyons's skilful wrangling of evidence from a very wide range of colonial Australian autobiographies reveal the colonists' reading to have been far wider than present-day imperial or national lenses might have predicted. His method is delightfully eclectic, sensible, humane and fresh, while enlivened by the dual traditions of Anglophone and European book history.- Paul Eggert, Emeritus Professor, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.

This is an important addition to the study of literature and literacy in colonial Australia, particularly to understanding how written works were received in the colonial period. It offers a major support to literature scholars by expanding the reading habits of the time with attention to 'ordinary readers'. This feature breaks new ground in the study of the contemporary reception of colonial literature and provides a much-needed extension to literary study. -Bill Ashcroft, FAHA, Professor Emeritus, School of the Arts and Media, UNSW, Sydney, Australia

This very readable as well as scholarly work shows the extent to which literacy practices became indispensable to Australia by the end of the nineteenth century. Throughout its pages, this major historian once again demonstrates the extent to which reading and writing had become essential for the nation's survival and cultural formation, and compellingly so. -Bill Bell, Cardiff University, UK

Martyn Lyons shows us how literacy has been deployed across colonial Australia with a special focus on 'feral' readers and ordinary writers. Drawing on decades of scholarship, he warmly embraces the reading and writing of the dispossessed and the unsettled, noting their peculiarly Australian inflections. Instead of separating 'ego-documents' (memoirs, diaries and journals) from reading, these practices are considered alongside one another, which is a unique and compelling dimension of this accomplished book. -Brigid Magner, Media & Communication, RMIT University, Australia

Martyn Lyons's skilful wrangling of evidence from a very wide range of colonial Australian autobiographies reveal the colonists' reading to have been far wider than present-day imperial or national lenses might have predicted. His method is delightfully eclectic, sensible, humane and fresh, while enlivened by the dual traditions of Anglophone and European book history.-- Paul Eggert, Emeritus Professor, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.

This is an important addition to the study of literature and literacy in colonial Australia, particularly to understanding how written works were received in the colonial period. It offers a major support to literature scholars by expanding the reading habits of the time with attention to 'ordinary readers'. This feature breaks new ground in the study of the contemporary reception of colonial literature and provides a much-needed extension to literary study. --Bill Ashcroft, FAHA, Professor Emeritus, School of the Arts and Media, UNSW, Sydney, Australia

This very readable as well as scholarly work shows the extent to which literacy practices became indispensable to Australia by the end of the nineteenth century. Throughout its pages, this major historian once again demonstrates the extent to which reading and writing had become essential for the nation's survival and cultural formation, and compellingly so. --Bill Bell, Cardiff University, UK

Martyn Lyons shows us how literacy has been deployed across colonial Australia with a special focus on 'feral' readers and ordinary writers. Drawing on decades of scholarship, he warmly embraces the reading and writing of the dispossessed and the unsettled, noting their peculiarly Australian inflections. Instead of separating 'ego-documents' (memoirs, diaries and journals) from reading, these practices are considered alongside one another, which is a unique and compelling dimension of this accomplished book. --Brigid Magner, Media & Communication, RMIT University, Australia

About the Author

Martyn Lyons is Emeritus Professor in History at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and a specialist in the history of reading and writing practices.