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9 Classic Australian Books You Should Be Adding To Your Literary Bucket List
You might not know this, but Australia has a pretty incredible literary history. In fact, some of the world’s most famous authors were citizens of the Land Down Under, including Nobel Prize winner Patrick White.
But beyond the Nobel-prize winner, there are plenty of other Aussie authors who have written classics that are well worth your time. So if you’re looking for some new books to add to your reading list, here are 9 classic Australian books you need to add to your literary bucket list.
1. My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
This novel was published in 1901 and follows the story of a young girl named Sybylla Melvyn who dreams of a life beyond her small rural town.
The book was ahead of its time in its depiction of a woman’s desire for independence and self-fulfilment, and it remains an important work of Australian literature today.
What does goodreads have to say about it?
My Brilliant Career is the story of Sybylla, a headstrong young girl growing up in early 20th century Australia. Sybylla rejects the opportunity to marry a wealthy young man to maintain her independence. As a consequence, she must take a job as a governess to a local family to which her father is indebted. My Brilliant Career is an early romantic novel by this popular Australian author.
Rated 3.83 / 5
2. Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner
Seven Little Australians is a classic Australian children’s book, first published in 1894. The story follows the lives of seven siblings who live in Sydney in the late 19th century.
The book is a charming and heartwarming read that gives a glimpse into what life was like for children in Australia at that time.
What does goodreads have to say about it?
19th century Australia: Captain Woolcot, having lost his wife tragically young, remarried a much younger woman to provide his six children with a new mother. Together, they had another child, making seven. The Captain felt it was necessary to run the family with army discipline, but his rules and regulations were no match for the fun-loving children, led by the redoubtable Judy.
Rated 3.9 / 5
3. For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke
For the Term of His Natural Life is a novel about a man who is sentenced to transportation to Australia after being wrongly accused of a crime.
The book is based on true events and provides a fascinating insight into the early history of Australia and the practice of transportation.
What does goodreads have to say about it?
The most famous work by the Australian novelist and poet, For the Term of His Natural Life, is a powerful tale of an Australian penal settlement, which originally appeared in serial form in a Melbourne paper.
Rated 3.95 / 5
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Book Thief is a historical fiction novel set in Nazi Germany during World War II. The story is narrated by Death and follows the life of a young girl named Liesel who steals books to keep them from being destroyed by the Nazis.
The book is an excellent read for anyone interested in history or in novels with a strong moral message.
Unlike the other books on the list, this isn’t set in Australia, but Markus Zusak is a cracking Australian author well worth your time. We wouldn’t be surprised if this novel becomes an official ‘classic’ in years to come.
What does goodreads have to say about it?
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier and will be busier still.
By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.
In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
Rated 4.4 / 5
5. The Harp in the South by Ruth Park
The Harp in the South is a novel that tells the story of an Irish-Australian family living in the slums of Sydney in the 1920s.
The book is a gritty and realistic portrayal of life in the slums at that time, and it is considered to be one of the great classics of Australian literature.
What does goodreads have to say about it?
Since it was first published in 1948, this compassionate novel has become a favourite with generations of Australian readers.
The Harp in the South is a nostalgic and moving portrait of the eventful family life of the Darcys of Number Twelve-and-a-Half Plymouth Street in Surry Hills, a Sydney slum. There grow the bitter-sweet first and last loves of Roie Darcy, who becomes a woman too quickly amid the brothels and the razor gangs, the tenements and the sly-grog shops.
Ruth Park is a classic storyteller. In this novel, she brings to life a community where, despite the odds, life is always exuberant and full of promise.
Rated: 4 / 5
6. The Fringe Dwellers by Nene Gare
The Fringe Dwellers is a novel about an Aboriginal family living on the outskirts of a small town in Western Australia.
The book is an important work of Australian literature that deals with themes of race and identity, and it provides a rare insight into the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia at that time.
What does goodreads have to say about it?
This is the story of two Aboriginal sisters, Noonah and Trilby. Noonah accepts her position as a dweller on the fringe of Australian society but Trilby refuses to.
Rated: 3.6 / 5
7. The Shiralee by D’Arcy Niland
The Shiralee is a novel about a man named Macauley who is forced to take care of his young daughter when his wife leaves him.
The book is set in the outback of New South Wales, and it is a fascinating portrayal of life in the Australian bush.
What does goodreads have to say about it?
A shiralee is a swag, a burden, a bloody millstone - and that's what four-year-old Buster is to her father, Macauley. He takes the child on the road with him to spite his wife, but months pass and still, no word comes to ask for the little girl back. Strangers to each other at first, father and daughter drift aimlessly through the dusty towns of Australia, sleeping rough and relying on odd jobs for food and money. Buster's resilience and trust slowly erode Macauley's resentment, and when he's finally able to get rid of her, he realises he can't let his shiralee go. In evocative prose that vividly conjures images of rural Australia, The Shiralee reveals an understanding of the paradoxical nature of the burdens we carry and creates a moving portrait of fatherhood, told with gruff humour and gentle pathos.
Rated: 4 / 5
8. Breath by Tim Winton
Breath is a novel about two teenage boys who grow up in a small town in Western Australia.
The book is a coming-of-age story about friendship and surfing, and it is considered to be one of Winton’s best works.
What does goodreads have to say about it?
Tim Winton is Australia’s best-loved novelist. Breath is an extraordinary evocation of an adolescence spent resisting complacency, testing one’s limits against nature, finding like-minded souls, and discovering just how far one breath will take you. It’s a story of extremes—extreme sports and extreme emotions.
On the wild, lonely coast of Western Australia, two thrill-seeking and barely adolescent boys fall into the enigmatic thrall of veteran big-wave surfer Sando. Together they form an odd but elite trio. The grown man initiates the boys into a kind of Spartan ethos, a regimen of risk and challenge, where they test themselves in storm swells on remote and shark-infested reefs, pushing each other to the edges of endurance, courage, and sanity. But where is all this heading? Why is their mentor’s past such forbidden territory? And what can explain his American wife’s peculiar behaviour? Venturing beyond all limits—in relationships, in physical challenges, and in sexual behaviour—there is a point where oblivion is the only outcome. Full of Winton’s lyrical genius for conveying physical sensation, Breath is a rich and atmospheric coming-of-age tale from one of world literature’s finest storytellers.
Rated: 3.9 / 5
There you have it, folks! These are just a few of the many classic Australian books that are well worth your time. So make sure to add them to your reading list and enjoy! Some of these are now in the public domain and can be downloaded for free, while others can be picked up from your local library or (if you're lucky) gotten for a song at the second-hand book shop.
9. Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
Bruce Pascoe is an Aboriginal Australian writer best-known for Dark Emu. This fascinating non-fiction book explores pre-colonial Australia, allowing readers to reexamine what they know of Australia's First Nations history.
What does goodreads have to say about it?
Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating and storing – behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. Gerritsen and Gammage in their latest books support this premise but Pascoe takes this further and challenges the hunter-gatherer tag as a convenient lie. Almost all the evidence comes from the records and diaries of the Australian explorers, impeccable sources.
Rated: 4.3 / 5
Have you read any of these classics? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below! And did we leave any must-reads out?
