Author(s): Graham Seal

Gift

Australia has a rich tradition of story-telling that reflects our unique history and experience. Great Australian Stories gathers some of the best stories from colonial times to the present, with bush yarns, tall stories, urban myths, and tales of the mysterious and downright weird. This is an Australia of down-to-earth realism, tragedy and heroism, dry humour, an unexpectedly wide supernatural streak, and a strong sense of place. Stories feature cocky farmers, numbskulls like the drongo, bunyips, famous tricksters like Jacky Bindi-I and the world's greatest whinger, as well as larger-than-life real characters like the sad Eliza Donnithorne. With favourite yarns from around the country, Great Australian Stories is the most representative collection available of the stories we tell about ourselves. Graham Seal explains where the stories come from, and why even the outright lies reveal a truth of sorts.