Treasure of the Hills. A Tale of Adventure and Mystery in the Bush for Boys and Girls of all ages. Authors typescript with pencil annotation and deletions.
c. 1943. Hardcover. The author's original manuscript with edits, sent to London in an attempt at publication with the stamp of literary agent John Farquharson on title page. The novel is set near Forbes, NSW on the Lachlan River. The book was ultimately published in Australia by Dymock's Book Arcade in 1944. The plot includes three Australian boys on a bush holiday and a dying prospector.
Shaw was born in South Melbourne but lived as a youth in North-Western Victoria. He was interested in writing and took a job at a newspaper in Forbes, NSW. Several of his stories were published by The Bulletin and eventually he became one of their rural editors.
This title was one of several detective stories that he wrote with a rural setting. He received several rejections that stated essentially that no one outside Australia had an interest in stories about the Outback.
4to, bound in blue Penfolds Woodstock Spring Back Letter File, title page plus 197pp of text, also 2pp of an alternate ending to the book; a typed and signed Authors Note and two manuscript hand inked maps.
Covers bumped, marked, typescript in very good condition with a few early page edges ruffled. Very good condition. Item #27996
Price: $375.00