Author | Charmian Clift and George Johnston |
---|---|
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Genre | Literary fiction |
Publisher | Collins |
Publication date | 1955 |
Media type | |
Pages | 318 pp |
Preceded by | The Big Chariot |
Followed by | Walk to the Paradise Gardens, The Darkness Outside |
The Sponge Divers (1955) is a novel by Australian authors Charmian Clift and George Johnston. The novel was also published in the USA under the title The Sea and the Stone. [1]
The novel is centred around the Greek island of Kalymnos where, for thousands of years, the locals have put out to sea to dive for sponges. But now a chemist has developed a synthetic substitute and the locals must learn to deal with the consequences of that discovery.
Don Edwards, reviewing the novel in The Sydney Morning Herald, found that the authors "have an exotic setting that gives them opportunities for the descriptive writing they favour." And "Ultimately, the strength of their achievement lies in their creation of background." [2]
A reviewer in The Bulletin was not impressed with the novel: "In general the imagery is laid on too thickly, the rhythms too obvious, the manner too portentous. Passages of colorful prose follow one another in such quick succession that the reader is first dazzled and then benumbed. The book seeks to deal with the fundamentals, the simplicities of life. A less decorative style would have served it better." [3]
Robert Alexander Hayes was an Australian Associate professor of Law at the University of Western Sydney.
The Argus was an Australian daily morning newspaper in Melbourne from 2 June 1846 to 19 January 1957, and was considered to be the general Australian newspaper of record for this period. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left-leaning approach from 1949. The Argus's main competitor was David Syme's more liberal-minded newspaper, The Age.
Charmian Clift was an Australian writer. She was the second wife and literary collaborator of George Johnston.
Martin Johnston was an Australian poet and novelist.
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George Henry Johnston OBE was an Australian journalist, war correspondent and novelist, best known for My Brother Jack. He was the husband and literary collaborator of Charmian Clift.
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It Is Never Too Late to Mend is a 1911 Australian feature-length silent film written and directed by W. J. Lincoln.
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This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1949.
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1955.
Forty Fathoms Deep: Pearldivers and Searovers in Australian Waters is a 1937 book from Ion Idriess about pearl divers.
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This is a list of historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2024.