A cura di Paola Della Valle 
 
 A historical overview of the largest empire of all time, from its origins to the decline and then the Commonwealth, through five stories from the five continents, told by: Joseph Conrad (An Outpost of Progress), keen observer of European colonialism in Africa; Rudyard Kipling (Lispeth, India); Henry Lawson (The Drover’s Wife, Australia); Henry Rider Haggard (Long Odds, South Africa); Gilbert Parker (A Man, A Famine and a Heathen Boy, Canada).
 Stimulating in-depth analyses enrich each story. 
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Transcripts - Summing-up Activities
 
 Uno sguardo storico al più grande impero di tutti i tempi, dalle origini al declino e al Commonwealth con cinque storie per i cinque continenti narrate da: J. Conrad (An Outpost of Progress, acuto osservatore del colonialismo britannico in Africa); R. Kipling (Lispeth, India); H. Lawson (The Drover’s Wife, Australia); H. R. Haggard (Long Odds, Sudafrica); G. Parker (A Man, a Famine and a Heathen Boy, Canada).

History of the British Empire: Birth and Decline

Joseph Conrad

Story 1 – An Outpost of Progress

Extension – From Heart of Darkness to Apocalypse Now

History of the British Empire: Colonial India

Rudyard Kipling

Story 2 – Lispeth

Extension – The voice of non-violence: Mahatma Gandhi

History of the British Empire: Colonial Australia

Henry Lawson

Story 3 – The Drover’s Wife

Extension – Australian identity: the bush and the Aborigines

History of the British Empire: Colonial South Africa

Henry Rider Haggard

Story 4 – Long Odds

Extension – From lost worlds to psychoanalysis

History of the British Empire: Colonial Canada

Gilbert Parker

Story 5 – A Man, a Famine and a Heathen Boy

Extension – Canada’s indigenous peoples

Summing-up activities

Glossary

Lawson was never able to find a balance or direction in his writing or lifestyle, and became an alcoholic. In 1892, he took a trip inland at the Bulletin s expense. His experiences in the wild outback3 of New South Wales shocked him and would furnish his writing for years.  You can have no idea of the horrors of the country out there,  he wrote to his aunt,  men tramp4 and beg and live like dogs.  In 1894, his mother compiled his first collection of verse and prose, Short Stories in Prose and Verse, but it was the volume In the Days When the World Was Wide (1896) that firmly established him as a poet. In the same year, he published his first major short-story collection, While the Billy Boils, which remains one of the great classics of Australian literature, and also married Bertha Bredt. They had a son, Joseph Henry, and a daughter, Bertha Marie Louise. In 1899, a second major verse volume, Verses Popular and Humorous, appeared, followed by two shortstory collections: On the Track and Over the Sliprails. In 1900, he and his family set off for London, where Lawson thought he could make a living with his pen, but they returned to Sydney in 1902. His alcoholism had become a major problem. From that time, Lawson s personal and creative life declined more and more and in December 1902, he attempted suicide. In April of the following year, his wife obtained official separation. He was frequently in jail for failure to pay maintenance for his children and after 1907 was several times in a mental hospital. The Commonwealth Literary Fund granted him a pension from May 1920. He died of a cerebral haemorrhage on 2 September 1922 and was given a state funeral at St. Andrew s Church. The Drover s Wife is one of Lawson s most anthologised short stories. It is a heart-breaking depiction of the lonely life in the bush from the viewpoint of a woman. It employs the style that made Lawson famous: a raw language and short, sharp sentences. As critic Bruce Elder said,  Lawson created a style and defined Australians: dryly laconic, passionately humanitarian and deeply humane.  3. outback: the area in Australia that is a long way from the coast. 4. tramp: to walk without a precise goal. 46 

3  The Drover s Wife Story BEFORE READING 1 This story is set in the Australian bush1. What do you know about the bush? Answer the true/false questions. T F a. In Australia the term bush includes both the desert c c and wooded areas. b. It is also used to mean any part of the country untouched by men and therefore  uncivilised . c c c. The Australian indigenous population, the Aborigines, c c cleared much of the bush. d. Many plants and animals of the bush are unique c c and native to Australia. e. White colonisers preferred to settle in the bush rather c c than on the coast. 2 Think about the context of the story and choose the right definition for drover. a. Someone whose job is to drive trucks. b. Someone who moves sheep or cows from one place to another. c. Someone who drives public transport (taxis, buses or coaches). 3 Match the following words with their definitions. You will find them in the story. a. squatter c 1. A long, thin break in a floor or wall. b. shanty c 2. An Australian colonist who occupies Crown land to breed sheep. c. undergrowth c 3. A large flat piece of wood. d. slab c 4. A small, roughly-built hut. e. bark c 5. Small trees, bushes and other plants growing around and under big trees. f. crack c 6. The outer covering of a tree. 1. bush: wild country that has not been cleared, especially in Australia or Africa. 47 

Una prospettiva storica sull'Impero britannico con cinque storie rappresentative dai cinque continenti: Africa, India, Australia, Sudafrica e Canada.

The British Empire - Collana Rainbows

Level B2 • Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

The British Empire

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