Why Australia's greatest literary classic was once considered a commercial failure

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Joseph Furphy is the author behind the Australian classic Such Is Life, a sprawling 1903 novel that initially flopped. Though it sold poorly, the book eventually gained status as an Australian Moby Dick, challenging the notion that the nation lacked creative originality or significant history during the 1880s.

Born in 1843, Joseph Furphy spent much of his life as a rural dweller, drawing on his experiences with bullock drivers and itinerant travellers to craft his magnum opus. His writing career was nurtured by schoolteacher Kate Baker, who encouraged his early submissions to The Bulletin. Furphy often wrote under the pseudonym Tom Collins, a moniker likely derived from slang for a person who touches on sore points.

When Furphy submitted the manuscript for Such Is Life to The Bulletin in 1897, editor A. G. Stephens recognized its literary merit but insisted on heavy revisions, including the excision of two entire chapters. Despite the editorial intervention, the 1903 publication was a commercial disappointment, selling only about a third of its print run. It was only through the persistent efforts of Kate Baker, who purchased the remaining copies, that the work survived to eventually find its audience.

The two chapters removed from the original manuscript became the seeds for Furphy's later novels. He expanded the fifth chapter into Rigby's Romance, serialized in 1905, and reworked the second chapter into The Buln-Buln and the Brolga, which remained unpublished until 1946. These works, along with his primary novel, feature the recurring protagonist Tom Collins. While the term 'furphy' is now common Australian slang for a tall story, historians suggest it likely originated from the water carts manufactured by the author's brother, John, rather than the writer's own tall tales.

Today, the legacy of Joseph Furphy is cemented by the Furphy Literary Award, established in 1992, and the preservation of his Swanbourne home. Historian Stuart MacIntyre notes that the author's work was pivotal in dismantling the assumption that nothing of significance happened in Australia. Much like Herman Melville's Moby Dick, Furphy's masterpiece endured decades of neglect before being recognized as a foundational piece of national literature.

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