''The Secret Key and Other Verses'' (1906) is the fourth collection of poems by Australian poet

George Essex Evans George Essex Evans (18 June 1863 – 10 November 1909) was an Australian poet. Biography Essex Evans was born in London on 18 June 1863, to Welsh parents. His father, John Evans Q.C., Treasurer of the Inner Temple and a member of the House of C ...

. It was released in

hardback A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occas ...

Angus and Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

in 1906, and features the poems "

The Women of the West ''The Women of the West'' is a poem by Australian poet George Essex Evans. It was first published in '' The Argus'' newspaper on 7 September 1901, and later in the poet's poetry collection '' The Secret Key and Other Verses'' (1906). Poem deta ...

", "Ode for Commonwealth Day", and "Loraine".Austlit - ''The Secret Key and Other Verses'' by George Essex Evans
/ref> The collection consists of 61 poems from a variety of sources. The poet notes in the Original edition: "Some of these verses are taken from ''Loraine''; many others, including the title piece and " The Commonwealth Ode" have not previously appeared in book form. For permission to include such later verses the author is indebted to the proprietors of THE BULLETIN, ARGUS, AGE, AUSTRALASIAN, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, COURIER, QUEENSLANDER, TOOWOOMBA CHRONICLE, and DARLING DOWNS GAZETTE."Full text of ''The Secret Key and Other Verses'' by George Essex Evans
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Critical reception

A reviewer in ''The Australian Town and Country Journal'' found: "This book contains about sixty pieces all in the best style of the poet, and of these the Commonwealth Ode (which was awarded the fifty guinea prize by the Commonwealth Government), and about twenty other poems have not hitherto appeared in book form. This book should determine George Essex Evans's place in Australian literature up to the present time, and though the writer believes that the poet's great work has yet to be done, there is in "The Secret Key and Other Verses" sufficient to enshrine him in the hearts of all lovers of literature, to say nothing of the lovers of Australian literature. Evans would prefer to be judged on the common plane of letters, for letters in the wider sense have no restricting ambit of parish or continent.""George Essex Evans's New Book", ''The Australian Town and Country Journal'', 29 December 1906, p20
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Key and Other Verses, The Australian poetry collections 1906 poetry books Angus & Robertson books

Contents

Critical reception

See also

References