The Singing Gold
 Title page for The Singing Gold (1929) | |
| Author | Dorothy Cottrell |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Company |
| Publication date | 1929 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 298 pp. |
The Singing Gold is the debut novel written by Australian author Dorothy Cottrell, first published by Hodder & Stoughton in the United Kingdom in 1928,[1] and then by Houghton Mifflin in the United States in 1929.[2]
The novel was initially serialised in the Ladies Home Journal in 1927,[3] where it gained significant attention, but once published as a book became a top six bestseller of 1929.[4]
The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature notes the novel "takes its title from the ground lark, an attractive, small, golden bird which flourishes in the open Queensland grasslands."[5]
Plot summary
Set in the Australian outback, The Singing Gold follows the journey of Joan Jerrington-Whatmore, a young woman who sets out on a 3000-mile sheep drive across regional Australia.[6] In her review of the novel critic Jessica White that, "as in much Australian settler literature", there is a contrast "between the beauty and harshness of the landscape and its inhabitants".[7]
Critical reception
In Australia Mary Gilmore, a renowned Australian poet and writer, on reading The Singing Gold pronounced Cottrell "a genius".[8] A review in The Bulletin noted that a reader should be grateful for "the comedy that permeates this story; and more so for the real and attractive picture of youth that is always to be perceived through the golden haze".[9]
In New Zealand the Wairarapa Daily Times described the novel as being "as fresh and blithe and entertaining a story as has come out of Australia, or any other country, for a long while."[10] And The Waikato Independent praised it for its authentic depictions of Australian bush life and having a strong, independent female protagonist.[11]
Publication history
After the novel's initial serialisation in the USA in Ladies Home Journal in 1927 it was reprinted as follows:
- Hodder & Stoughton, UK, 1928[1] and 1929[3]
- Houghton Mifflin USA, 1929[2]
- The Sydney Mail, serialised in 17 weekly instalments between 24 October 1928 to 13 February 1929[12]
- Angus & Robertson, Australia, 1956[13]
- Australian Women's Mirror, serialised between 25 November 1959 to 30 March 1960[3]
References
- 1 2 "The Singing Gold by Dorothy Cottrell (Hodder & Stoughton, 1928)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- 1 2 "The Singing Gold by Dorothy Cottrell (Houghton Mifflin)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- 1 2 3 "Austlit – The Singing Gold by Dorothy Cottrell". Austlit. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
- ↑ ""Hidden women of history: disabled Australian author Dorothy Cottrell was 'the Liane Moriarty of the Jazz Age' but is almost unheard of here"". The Conversation. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
- ↑ Wilde, William H.; Hooton, Joy; Andrews, Barry (1985). The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 184. ISBN 0195542339. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
- ↑ ""The Singing Gold." - Quorn Mercury (SA : 1895 - 1954) - 3 May 1929". Trove. 3 May 1929. p. 3. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- ↑ "Review of The Singing Gold". Jessica White. 28 September 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- ↑ White J. 'So many sparks of fire: Dorothy Cottrell, modernism and mobility. Queensland Review. 2016;23(2):164-177. doi:10.1017/qre.2016.27
- ↑ ""The Singing Gold"". The Bulletin, 24 October 1956, p2. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
- ↑ Papers Past (24 April 1929). "Book Review: The Singing Gold. In Wairarapa Daily Times, 24 April 1929, Page 6". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- ↑ Papers Past (1 June 1929). "Reviews, New Books: The Singing Gold. From Waikato Independent, Volume XXIX, Issue 3092, 1 June 1929, Page 7". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- ↑ ""The Singing Gold"". The Sydney Mail. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
- ↑ "The Singing Gold by Dorothy Cottrell (A&R 1956". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 20 May 2026.