The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, a comic verse novel, was first published in book form in 1915 and sold more than sixty thousand copies in nine editions within a year. By the mid-1970s nearly three hundred thousand copies had been sold internationally.
One of the most famous works of Australian literature, it tells the story of Bill, a larrikin, who meets a young woman named Doreen. The book chronicles their courtship and marriage, and Bill's transformation from a thuggish gang member to a contented husband and father.
This edition has a new introduction by the actor Jack Thompson, renowned for his readings of C. J. Dennis's work.
The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke is a perennial Australian favourite. Its 1919 screen adaptation is considered Australia's greatest silent film and one of our best movies of all time.
C. J. Dennis, was born in South Australia in 1876. A journalist, among other occupations, he was much loved for his humorous poems, especially The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke. He died in Melbourne in 1938. Alongside A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson and Henry Lawson, both of whom he collaborated with, he ranks among Australia's most popular poets.
Jack Thompson AM has appeared in such films as Wake in Fright, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Breaker Morant (for which he won awards from the Cannes Film Festival and the AFI), The Man from Snowy River and Australia. His audio recordings of poems from The Songs of the Sentimental Bloke are available on iTunes and as CDs from finepoets.com.
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'Exquisite humour...I "dips me lid"—and stand aside.' Henry Lawson
