''Happy Valley'' is a 1939 novel by Australian author

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was a British-born Australian writer who published 12 novels, three short-story collections, and eight plays, from 1935 to 1987. White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, ...

. It won the 1941

Australian Literature Society Gold Medal The Australian Literature Society Gold Medal (ALS Gold Medal) is awarded annually by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature for "an outstanding literary work in the preceding calendar year." From 1928 to 1974 it was awarded by the ...

. White did not allow the novel to be republished in his lifetime. Not until 2012 would the book come back into print. White had dedicated the novel to artist

Roy De Maistre Roy De Maistre CBE (27 March 18941 March 1968) was an Australian artist of international fame. He is renowned in Australian art for his early experimentation with "colour-music", and is recognised as the first Australian artist to use pure abst ...

. The book owed much to White's experiences as a jackaroo working at

Adaminaby Adaminaby is a small town near the Snowy Mountains north-west of Cooma, New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council. The historic town, of 301 people at the , is a trout fishing centre and winter sports destination situated ...

in the

Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system ...

of Southern New South Wales.

References

Novels by Patrick White 1939 Australian novels Adaminaby ALS Gold Medal winning works George G. Harrap and Co. books {{1930s-novel-stub