Kangaroo (novel)
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''Kangaroo'' is a 1923 novel by
D.H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
. It is set in Australia.


Description

''Kangaroo'' is an account of a visit to
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
by an English writer named Richard Lovat Somers and his German wife Harriet in the early 1920s. This appears to be semi-autobiographical, based on a three-month visit to Australia by Lawrence and his wife Frieda, in 1922. The novel includes a chapter ("Nightmare") describing the Somers' experiences in wartime
St Ives, Cornwall St Ives ( kw, Porth Ia, meaning "Ia of Cornwall, St Ia's cove") is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commerci ...
, vivid descriptions of the Australian landscape, and Richard Somers' sceptical reflections on fringe politics in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. Ultimately, after being initially somewhat drawn to the Digger movement led by Benjamin Cooley - 'Kangaroo' - neither it nor the "great general emotion" of Kangaroo himself appeal to Somers, and in this the novel begins to reflect Lawrence's own experiences during World War I. On the other hand, Somers also rejects the socialism of Willie Struthers, which emphasises "generalised love". Australian journalist Robert Darroch – in several articles in the late 1970s, and a 1981 book entitled ''D.H. Lawrence in Australia'' – claimed that Lawrence based ''Kangaroo'' on real people and events he witnessed in Australia. The extent to which this is true remains a matter of controversy. Joseph Davis in ''D.H. Lawrence at Thirroul'' (1989) is sympathetic to the view that ''Kangaroo'' may be based on real events, but argues that it is impossible that Lawrence had time to meet clandestine political leaders in Sydney when he was too busy writing his novel in
Thirroul Thirroul () is a northern seaside suburb of the city of Wollongong, Australia. Situated between Austinmer and Bulli, it is approximately 13 kilometres north of Wollongong, and 73 km south of Sydney. It lies between the Pacific Ocean and ...
. Davis feels it is more likely to have been a local south-coast identity associated with Thirroul who would have provided some of the details of Lawrence's political plot. His 2022 book "D.H. Lawrence at Thirroul: One Hundred Years on..." encompasses an additional 35 years research on Lawrence's Australian stay and is available free on line. Kangaroo is the fictional nickname of one of Lawrence's characters, Benjamin Cooley, a prominent ex-soldier and lawyer, who is also the leader of a secretive,
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
organisation, the "Diggers Club". Cooley fascinates Somers, but he maintains his distance from the movement. It has been suggested by Darroch and others that Cooley was based on Major General Charles Rosenthal, a notable World War I leader and right-wing activist. It has been alleged that Rosenthal was involved with the Old Guard, a secret
anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
militia. Similarly, according to Darroch, the character of Jack Calcott – who is the Somers' neighbour in Sydney and introduces Richard Somers to Cooley – may have been based on a controversial Australian military figure, Major
John Scott John Scott may refer to: Academics * John Scott (1639–1695), English clergyman and devotional writer * John Witherspoon Scott (1800–1892), American minister, college president, and father of First Lady Caroline Harrison * John Work Scott (180 ...
, who was both an associate of Rosenthal and an Old Guard official. Another central character is Willie Struthers, a left-wing activist reputed to have been based partly on
Willem Siebenhaar Willem Siebenhaar (; 28 July 1863 – 29 December 1936) was a social activist and writer in Western Australia from the 1890s until he left Australia in 1924. His literary contributions and opposition to policies such as conscription were his mos ...
, who made Lawrence's acquaintance in
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. James Sharpe is said to have been based on the music critic and composer Cecil Gray.


Influence and adaptations

''Kangaroo'' is sometimes cited as an influence on the
Jindyworobak movement The Jindyworobak Movement was an Australian literary movement of the 1930s and 1940s whose white members, mostly poets, sought to contribute to a uniquely Australian culture through the integration of Indigenous Australian subjects, language and ...
, an Australian nationalist literary group, which emerged about a decade later.
Gideon Haigh Gideon Clifford Jeffrey Davidson Haigh (born 29 December 1965) is an English-born Australian journalist and non-fiction author who writes about sport (especially cricket), business and crime in Australia. He was born in London, was raised in Ge ...
saw fit to dub it "one of the sharpest fictional visions of the country and its people".Haigh, Gideon. ''Big pictures, artfully painted''. 6 September 2008. http://content-rsa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/361075.html (accessed 7 September 2008). It was adapted as a film, also called ''
Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
'', in 1987, featuring Colin Friels as Somers, Judy Davis as Harriet and Hugh Keays-Byrne as Kangaroo. The Australian composer
Peter Sculthorpe Peter Joshua Sculthorpe (29 April 1929 – 8 August 2014) was an Australian composer. Much of his music resulted from an interest in the music of countries neighboring Australia as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of Aborigin ...
used extracts from the novel in his work for speaker and orchestra, ''The Fifth Continent'' (1963). It was recorded in 1963 by
Fred Parslow Frederick Henry Parslow (14 August 1932 – 26 January 2017) was an Australian actor, who appeared in film, television and theatre. Acting career Parslow was notable in several film and TV roles, with parts in internationally successful TV so ...
,
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...
and Thomas Matthews, and then again in 1997 with the composer narrating, accompanied by Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and
David Porcelijn David Porcelijn (born 7 January 1947 in Achtkarspelen) is a Dutch composer and conductor. David Porcelijn studied flute, composition and conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in The Hague. He also studied the baroque flute, specialising ...
- released on
ABC Classics ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
.


Further reading

*D.H. Lawrence, ''Kangaroo'' (1994; originally published 1923), edited by Bruce Steele, New York: Cambridge University Press. *Robert Darroch, ''D.H. Lawrence in Australia'' (1981), South Melbourne: Macmillan Co. of Australia. *Joseph Davis, ''D. H. Lawrence at Thirroul: One Hundred Years On...: https://www.academia.edu/.../D_H_LAWRENCE_AT_THIRROUL_ONE...


References


External links

*
Digital facsimile at the Internet Archive
* {{D. H. Lawrence
British novels
British novels adapted into films">1923" target="_blank" class="mw-redirect" title="British novels">British novels
British novels adapted into films English novels Novels by D. H. Lawrence Novels set in New South Wales Martin Secker books