ANZ LitLovers LitBlog

Katharine Susannah Prichard (State Library of NSW, cropped)

Katharine Susannah Prichard (4 December 1883 – 2 October 1969) was an Australian playwright, novelist, author of short stories and journalism, and political activist.  She was notable in her lifetime for writing vivid novels that pioneered Australian social realism, writing novels, plays and short stories that depicted distinctively Australian life and work.  She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1951 and awarded the Joliot-Curie Medal for Service to Peace in 1959.

To read the life story of this remarkable author, you can’t do better than to consult The Red Witch: A Biography of Katharine Susannah Prichard, by Nathan Hobby (Miegunyah Press, 2022).  See my ANZ LitLovers review here.

KSP’s home at Greenmount WA, is now the home of the Katharine Susannah Prichard (KSP) Writers’ Centre, the oldest of its kind in Australia.  In addition to offering all kinds of services to writers, including residencies and fellowships, they offer guided tours of the heritage listed site. As explained at their website,

‘Katharine’s Place’ was the name her friends gave to the Australian author’s Greenmount home. When the Katharine Susannah Prichard Foundation was established in 1985, it was decided to retain this already recognised name.

KSP Writers’ Centre (Source: KSP Writers’ Centre website)

NOVELS

Dates refer to published editions.  Some titles were serialised prior to these dates. For publishing details, consult ‘Works by Katharine Susannah Prichard’ in The Red Witch: A Biography of Katharine Susannah Prichard, by Nathan Hobby (2022), p.426

The Pioneers (1915) – filmed in 1916 by Franklyn Barrett and 1926 by Raymond Longford

• See Lisa’s ANZ LitLovers review
• See Sue’s review at Whispering Gums
• See Bill’s review at The Australian Legend
• See Janine’s review at The Resident Judge of Port Phillip
• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth 

Windlestraws (1916)

• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth 

Black Opal (1921)

• See Lisa’s ANZ LitLovers review
• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth 

Working Bullocks (1926), on my TBR

• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth and his earlier review here

The Wild Oats of Han (1928)

• See Brona’s review (and links to where you can read it) at This Reading Life
• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth

Coonardoo (1929)

• See Lisa’s ANZ LitLovers review
• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth and his ‘preliminary thoughts’

Haxby’s Circus (1930)

• See Lisa’s ANZ LitLovers review
• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth

Intimate Strangers (1937; the basis of a 1981 miniseries) on my TBR

• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth

Moon of Desire (1941)

• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth

The Roaring Nineties (The Goldfields Trilogy #1, 1946)

• See Lisa’s ANZ LitLovers review
• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth

Golden Miles (The Goldfields Trilogy #2, 1948)

• See Lisa’s ANZ LitLovers review
• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth

Winged Seeds (The Goldfields Trilogy #3, 1950)

• See Lisa’s ANZ LitLovers review
• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth

Subtle Flame (1967), on my TBR

• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth

SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS

Kiss on the Lips and Other Stories (1932)

• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth

Potch and Colour (1944), on my TBR

• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth

N’Goola and other Stories (1959)

• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth

See also ‘The Kid’ published in The Bulletin in 1907, John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, Sydney, N.S.W viewed at Trove 23/4/22. and reviewed here at ANZ LitLovers .

To read selected short stories available at Trove, including Christmas Tree (1919, reviewed at Whispering Gums),Buccaneers (1935),The Bride of Faraway (1933) and Flight (1938), see Nathan Hobby’s post about #KSP50, commemorations for the 50th anniversary of KSP’s death.

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SELECTED DRAMA

As listed in The Red Witch: A Biography of Katharine Susannah Prichard, by Nathan Hobby (2022), p.426

• The Burglar (1910)
• Her Place (c.1913)
• For Instance (c.1914, MS lost)
• The Pioneers (1923)
• The Great Man (1923)
• Brumby Innes (1927, the basis of a 1973 television film) and Bid Me to Love (1927)
  • See Mairi Neil’s post about this play at Up the Creek with a Pen
• Forward One (1935)
• Women of Spain (1937)
• Penalty Clause (1940)
• Deakin (1951)

SELECTED JOURNALISM AND POLITICAL PAMPHLETS

As listed in The Red Witch: A Biography of Katharine Susannah Prichard, by Nathan Hobby (2022), p426

The New Order (1919)

The Real Russia (1934)

Why I Am a Communist (1956)

POETRY

Clovelly Verses (1913)

The Earth Lover and Other Verses (1932)

• See Nathan’s thoughts about ‘Lips of My Love’

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Child of the Hurricane (1963)

• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth
• see Bill’s review at The Australian Legend

CHILDREN’S BOOK

Moggie and her Circus Pony (1967)

SELECTIONS

On Strenuous Wings, edited by Joan Williams (1965)

Happiness: Selected Short Stories (1967)

Straight Left, edited by Ric Throssell, (non-fiction, 1982)

Tribute : Selected Stories of Katherine Susannah Prichard, edited by Ric Throssell (1988)

Katharine Susannah Prichard: Stories, Journalism and Essays, edited by Delys Bird (2000)

FURTHER READING

Wild Weeds and Windflowers by KSP’s son Ric Throssel, (1975) available from Angus & Robertson’s House of Books, print on demand, on my TBR.

• See Nathan’s review at Nathan Hobby, a Biographer in Perth 

The Red Witch: A Biography of Katharine Susannah Prichard, by Nathan Hobby (2022), available from Melbourne University Press and all good bookstores, see my review.

Image credit: By State Library of New South Wales collection from Australia – Katharine Susannah Prichard, 1927 or 1928 / by May Moore, No restrictions, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6281882, cropped