Joseph Furphy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joseph Furphy
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| Born | 26 September 1843 Yering, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 13 September 1912 Claremont, Western Australia |
| Pen name | Tom Collins |
| Occupation | Author, poet |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Genre | Australian literature |
Joseph Furphy (born 26 September 1843 – died 13 September 1912) was an important Australian writer. Many people call him the "Father of the Australian novel." He often wrote under the pen name Tom Collins. He is most famous for his book Such Is Life, which came out in 1903. This book is considered a classic Australian story.
Contents
Joseph Furphy's Early Life
Joseph Furphy was born in Yering, Australia. His father, Samuel Furphy, came from Ireland in 1840. Samuel worked as a head gardener. Joseph's mother taught him at home because there was no school nearby. He learned from the Bible and Shakespeare, even memorizing parts of them when he was just seven years old.
Around 1850, his family moved to Kangaroo Ground. The people there built a school and hired a teacher. In 1852, they moved again to Kyneton. Here, Joseph's father started a business selling hay and corn. Later, his father rented a farm and bought a machine for threshing grain. Joseph and his brother learned to operate this machine.
In 1864, Joseph bought his own threshing machine. He traveled around the Daylesford area for work. He met Leonie Germain, a 16-year-old girl, and they got married in 1866.
Life as a Farmer and Foundry Worker
After getting married, Joseph tried farming. He took over his mother-in-law's farm for a while. Later, he started his own farm near Colbinabbin. But the land was not good for farming. Around 1873, he sold his farm.
He then bought a team of bullocks, which are strong oxen used for pulling carts. He became successful for some years. However, a big drought hit, and he lost many of his animals. In 1884, he started working at his brother John's metal foundry in Shepparton. He worked there for about 20 years. In the evenings, he spent a lot of time reading and writing.
Later in his life, Joseph moved to Western Australia. He joined his sons, who had also started an iron foundry there. He passed away in Claremont on 13 September 1912. He is buried in Karrakatta Cemetery.
An Australian author named Miles Franklin wrote a full book about Joseph Furphy. It was called Joseph Furphy: The Legend of a Man and His Book and came out in 1944.
Joseph Furphy's Writing Career
"I have just finished writing a full-sized novel; title, Such is Life; the scene, Riverina and northern Vic; temper, democratic; bias, offensively Australian."
When he was young, Joseph Furphy wrote many poems. In 1867, he won first prize for a poem about 'The Death of President Lincoln'. While he worked in Shepparton, a schoolteacher named Kate Baker encouraged him to write more.
He sent a story called 'The Mythical Sundowner' to a magazine called The Bulletin. He used the name 'Warrigal Jack', and the story was published.
His most famous book is Such Is Life. It tells stories about people living in the countryside of southern New South Wales and Victoria in the 1880s. These characters include bullock drivers, farmers, and travelers.
In 1897, he sent the book to The Bulletin. A. G. Stephens, an editor, saw how good it was. He suggested some parts be cut shorter. Furphy removed a whole section, which was later published separately as Rigby's Romance. Stephens convinced The Bulletin to publish Such Is Life in 1903. Even though it was a great Australian book, it didn't sell many copies at first. After Furphy died, Kate Baker helped get more copies printed.
The word "furphy" in Australian slang means a "tall story" or a rumor. Some people think it came from Joseph Furphy's popularity. However, it's more likely the word came from water carts made by his brother John's company, J. Furphy & Sons. These carts were very common during World War I and were often where soldiers shared rumors.
Such Is Life might also be the first place the Australian and New Zealand saying "ropeable" was written down. This phrase means to be very angry.
Some people compare Such Is Life to Moby-Dick. Both books were not very popular for many years. But then, they were "discovered" and recognized as classic works of literature.
Joseph Furphy's Books
- Such Is Life (1903)
- Rigby's Romance (1921)
- The Buln Buln and the Brolga (1946)
