Tasmaniana
One of our main specialties, our extensive Tasmanian section encompasses Tasmanian novels and poetry (by Tasmanians, and/or about Tasmania); general and specific Tasmanian history; Tasmanian travel and walking guides; independently published works; souvenir and gift pictorial books; and secondhand Tasmanian books.
Abandoned Women: Scottish Convicts Exiled Beyond the Seas
Lucy Frost
Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781742377605
Trade paperback
2012
Price $AU 29.99
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In the early 19th century crofters and villagers streamed into the burgeoning cities of Scotland. Orphan girls, single mothers, women with feckless husbands and widows all struggled to feed and clothe themselves, and were left with few options other than theft and prostitution. Anxious to quell the rising tide of petty crime, the Scottish authorities imposed harsh sentences, consigning these women - and often their children too - for transportation to the Australian colonies.
Lucy Frost tells the stories of the lives of a boatload of women and their children who arrived in Hobart in 1838. While convict men of that period worked in road gangs, the women were assigned as domestic servants, seamstresses or to work in dairies, and were often ill-treated by their employers. Some managed to snare a good husband once they'd earned their tickets of leave, and became solid citizens. For others errors and disasters continued to plague their lives in the colony.
As I Was Saying
Robert Dessaix
Vintage ISBN 9781742753072
Paperback 2012
Price $AU 27.95
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As I Was Saying is a swirling conversation with the reader on everything from travel to dogs and cats, from sport and swearing to the pleasures of idleness. Punctuated at regular intervals by talks Dessaix has given on a wide range of subjects, as well as by some of his most incisive journalism, the conversation invites the reader to join a leisurely guided tour of his chamber of curiosities, featuring pieces collected all over the globe from across the centuries.
And What Do You Do, Mr Gable?
Richard Flanagan
Vintage ISBN 9781742752723
Paperback 2011
Price $AU 24.95
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Richard Flanagan is one of Australia's pre-eminent novelists. Collected here for the first time are the very best of his wide-ranging, free-wheeling writings on everything from directing film and writing novels to a near fatal kayak trip; from baking bread to bushfires to art to war; from Kosovar refugees on the run to Jorge Luis Borges to his celebrated essay on the rape of Tasmania's forests, credited as a key to halting Gunns' two billion dollar pulp mill.
Sparkling, moving and always surprising, this is exhilarating reading from one of Tasmania's best-known writers.
The Roving Party
Rohan Wilson
Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781742373669
Trade paperback
2011
Price $AU 28.00
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Winner of the 2011 Australian/Vogel Literary Award, Tasmanian Rohan Wilson's novel is a surprisingly beautiful evocation of horror and brutality: a meditation on the intricacies of human nature at its most raw. The Roving Party is a historical novel tackling the story of John Batman in Tasmania in the 1830s.
The roving party consists of Batman, ruthless, singleminded; four convicts, the youngest still only a stripling; Gould, a downtrodden farmhand; two free black trackers; and powerful, educated Black Bill, brought up from childhood as a white man. Their purpose is massacre, and with promises of freedom, land grants and money, each is willing to risk his life for the prize.
Passing over many miles of tortured country, the roving party searches for Aborigines, taking few prisoners and killing freely, Batman never abandoning the visceral intensity of his hunt. And all the while, Black Bill pursues his personal quarry, the much-feared warrior, Manalargena.
A History of Tasmania
Henry Reynolds
Cambridge UP ISBN 9780521548373
Paperback
2011
Price $AU 39.95
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Reynolds' book charts the history of Tasmania from the arrival of European maritime expeditions in the late eighteenth century, through to the modern day. By presenting the perspectives of both Indigenous Tasmanians and British settlers, he provides an original and engaging exploration of these first fraught encounters. The book explores how geography created a unique economic and migratory history for Tasmania, quite separate from the mainland experience, and offers an astute analysis of the island's economic and demographic reality.
Pedder Dreaming: Olegas Truchanas and a Lost Tasmanian Wilderness
Natasha Cica
UQP ISBN 97810702236723
Hardback
2011
Price $AU 59.95
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In 1972 Lake Pedder in Tasmania's untamed south-west was flooded to build a dam. Wildlife photographer Olegas Truchanas, who had spent years campaigning passionately to save the magnificent fresh water lake, had finally lost. The campaign, the first of its kind in Australia, paved the way for later conservation successes, and turned Truchanas into a Tasmanian legend. Truchanas, a Lithuanian emigre, is a stalwart adventurer, loving family man, activist, thinker, survivor and artist. Through those who were closest to him, Truchanas emerges, as does his influence on early conservation in Tasmania, and the small group of landscape artists, the Sunday Group, who admired his passion for the lake and were inspired by it.
Stunningly illustrated with original Truchanas photographs from the 1950s, '60s and '70s, and artwork from the Sunday Group, Pedder Dreaming captures the brutality, raw beauty and vulnerability of the Tasmanian wilderness and the legacy of one man who had the vision to fight for it.
Trout Waters of Tasmania
Greg French
Australian Fishing Network ISBN 9781865131900
Hardback
2011
Price $AU 69.99
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A complete update to Greg French's definitive book on trout fishing in Tasmania. Trout Waters of Tasmania contains information on every lake, stream and estuary available to anglers on the Apple Isle, including colour maps of major rivers and lakes contain access points plus the lakes' full-supply levels, typical operating levels and inundated waterways. New impoundments, including Huntsman Lake, changed situations at existing lakes and previously unrecorded wilderness fisheries are all documented for the first time. Plus there is everything else you need to know including websites, regulations and management plans, services, fishing guides and boat hire.
Tasmania (6th edition)
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet ISBN 9781741794618
Paperback
2011
Price $AU 36.99
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The 6th edition of this popular travel guide was released in August 2011.
The Forgotten Islands
Michael Veitch
Penguin ISBN 9780670071814
Trade paperback
2011
Price $AU 39.95
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Bass Strait has over fifty cold, dark islands that are regularly pounded by atrocious weather and hardly visited. These islands are rich in atypical Australian history: sealers, lighthouse keepers, feuds, Aboriginal 'resettlements', deadly encounters with nature and people who have vanished. Michael Veitch has always been strangely drawn to these islands and was intrigued by how little we know about them. Although some of them are extremely difficult to get to, he decided to attempt to visit them all, relying on the goodwill and skill of an array of fisherman, pilots and locals. Here, he recounts his efforts, the people he meets along the way and the extraordinary flora, fauna and landscapes he finds.
Win and Clyde
Janet Fenton
40 Degrees South 9780980856446
Trade Paperback
2011
Price $AU 39.95
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The remarkable story of Win and Clyde Clayton and their home and life in South West Tasmania.
This second print run is sure to sell out as quickly as the first, so don't hesitate!
How the Dead See (A Pufferfish Mystery)
David Owen
40° South ISBN 9780980856415
Trade Paperback
2011
Price $AU 24.95
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The latest in the Pufferfish series!
Famous Reporter
Walleah Press
ISBN 9770819597008
Paperback
2011
Price $AU 10.00
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The latest issue of Famous Reporter contains a rich assortment of poetry, haiku, review, essay, fiction, launch speech, interview, and more.
Dark Clouds on the Mountain 
John Tully
ISBN 9781921665035
Trade paperback
2010
Price $AU 29.95
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Baptised in Blood: The Shocking Secret History of Sorell
Robert Cox
ISBN 9781921767012
Paperback
2010
Price $AU 34.95
***OUT OF PRINT***
Tasmania: Women, History, Books and Places
Susanna Hoe
ISBN 9780954405663
Paperback
2010
Price $AU 40.00
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This book is the third in Hoe's 'Of Islands and Women' series.
A Guide to Tasting Tasmania
Graeme Phillips
ISBN 9780975158418
Paperback
2010
Price $AU 19.95
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The long-awaited new edition of Graeme Phillips's guide to finding the best food and drink in Tasmania.
Dancing on the Edge of the Empire
Victoria Rigney
ISBN 9780646492872
Paperback
2008
Price $AU 25.00
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"Victoria Rigney has produced that happy combination of well researched history and a great story of a young Tasmanian woman who married into the European aristocracy. Dancing on the Edge of the Empire is well written and a highly entertaining book to read while retaining all the rigour of first class historical scholarship."
~ Henry Reynolds
The Tasman: Biography of an Ocean
Neville Peat
Penguin ISBN 9780143011385
Paperback, 240 pp, colour photographs
2010
Price $AU $49.95
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"I had the ambition to not only go as far as anyone had been before, but as far as it was possible for man to go." - Lieutenant James Cook, 1771.
The mighty Tasman Sea casts a spell on all who venture into it. Here, for the first time, is a book that tells its remarkable life story, from its early origins to the multi-layered human experience of it... whenever people interact with a sea of the Tasman's nature, there is bound to be drama.
The Tasman describes life of all kinds, from first exploration, shipping disasters, heroic crossings and strange marine creatures, to the many colourful coastal communities in New Zealand and Australia. With an unerring eye for detail, noted travel and natural history writer Neville Peat has crafted a compelling, visually stunning account of all things Tasman.
In Search of Hobart
Peter Timms
New South Books ISBN 9781921410543
Hardback, 178 x 110 mm, 240 pp
October 2009
Price $AU 29.95
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Peter Timms leads us on a journey through his adopted city of Hobart, Australia's smallest, most southerly, least prosperous, but arguably most beautiful state capital. He reveals a city in transition, shaking off its dark and troubled past to claim its special place in the contemporary world. From Hobart's convict legacy, its spectacular natural setting, heritage architecture and climate, to crime rates, economic hardship and the recent disfigurements of the developers, Timms brings a wealth of fresh insights, exploring the city with a mixture of affection, admiration, frustration and sadness, interviewing a wide range of residents along the way.
Those who have experienced Hobart as tourists will be surprised and intrigued by the lively, complex society this book reveals. Those who live here will surely discover their city anew.
Wanting
Richard Flanagan
Random House ISBN 9781741666687
Paperback
August 2009
Price $AU 24.95
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You will never have read anything like Wanting before. Lost polar explorations, an orphaned child who becomes a black princess, a woman grieving for a daughter she never had, and Charles Dickens falling in love - all come together in one of the most acclaimed and magical novels of recent years.
Based on historic events, Wanting is a novel about art, love, and the way in which life is finally determined never by reason, but only ever by wanting.
Shortlisted for Miles Franklin Literary Award 2009 and the Prime Minister's Literary Award; winner of Tasmania Book Prize 2011 (Best Book with Tasmanian Content).
Secrets of the Sea
Nicholas Shakespeare
Vintage-Random ISBN 9780099507772
Paperback
First published 2007
$AU 24.95
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Award-winning author Nicholas Shakespeare again turns his pen to Tasmanian landscapes and stories. Secrets of the Sea, set in a coastal Tasmanian town, has been described as Shakespeare's best novel yet.
A Year in a Bottle
Sally Wise
ABC Books ISBN 9780733323348
June 2008 (reprint)
Price $AU 24.95
Van Diemen's Land
James Boyce
Black Inc. ISBN 9781863954242
Trade paperback
January 2009
Price $AU 32.95
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Boyce's history of Tasmania's penal settlement investigates a convict relationship with the land and environment in a new and unfamiliar country. Van Diemen's Land investigates a colonial past and navigates the influences of landscape on humanity.
Van Diemen's Land is the winner of the 2009 Tasmanian Book Award and the 2008 Colin Roderick Award, and has been shortlisted for many other awards.
Also available in small edition paperback:
ISBN 9781863954914
2010
Price $AU 29.95
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Country Houses of Tasmania
Alica Bennett and Georgia Warner
Allen and Unwin ISBN 9781741756524
Hardback, 288 x 228 mm, 224 pp, colour cover with col. illustrations
March 2009
Price $AU 60.00
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Tucked into the folds of Tasmania's wild landscape is an array of beautiful historic homes from a time when life was simpler and grander - and perhaps more of an adventure.
Alice Bennett and Georgia Warner have collected together the stories of these houses, and of the people who have passed through them over the years. In the 21st century these houses, which have been largely lost on the Australian mainland, remain as brick-and-mortar reminders of the past.
Alice Bennett was one of the youngest photographers to receive a Master of Photography via the Australian Institute of Professional Photography's Canon Australian Professional Photography Awards. Georgia Warner is the Senior Media Adviser to the Tasmanian Opposition Leader, Will Hodgman. Both Alice and Georgia live in Tasmania.
In Tasmania
Nicholas Shakespeare
Vintage-Random ISBN 9781741669060
Paperback
November 2006
Price $AU 19.95
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In Tasmania on holiday, novelist and Chatwin biographer Nicholas Shakespeare discovered a house on a 9-mile beach and instantly decided this was where he wanted to live. He didn't know then that his ancestor was the corrupt and colourful Anthony Fenn Kemp, now known as ‘the Father of Tasmania', or that he would find relatives living on the island.
Shakespeare interweaves his personal journey into a new-found paradise with a brilliant account of the two turbulent centuries of Tasmania's history in this fascinating and timely book.
Shark: In Peril in the Sea
David Owen
Allen and Unwin ISBN 9781741750324
Hardback
December 2009
Price $AU 35.00
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The shark has been our planet's dominant predator for millions of years. But in just 50 years all sharks have become threatened by human activity - victims of a deadly combination of overfishing, pollution and the destruction of their habitats. Although scientific knowledge of sharks is increasing rapidly, there is still much to learn about these complex and elusive animals - and for many species it may already be too late. Despite this, in the popular imagination sharks remain poorly understood and, all too often, despised.
Shark: In Peril in the Sea comprehensively overturns our negative and damaging perception of sharks. Thoroughly researched and written in clear, jargon-free prose by a shark 'outsider', it tells you everything you need to know about these sophisticated guardians of our oceans.
Flora and Fauna Guide to the Upper Florentine Valley
Miranda Gibson and Lily Leahy
Paperback, colour cover with col. and b&w illustrations
December 2010
Price $AU 15.00
A field guide to the Upper Florentine area, featuring colour images of plants, trees, ferns, fungi, mammals, birds, and insects.
Tasmania's Table
Paul County and Nick Osborne
ISBN 9780980635515
Hardback 400pp, colour and b&w photos
November 2009
Price $AU 64.95
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Celebrating the richness and diversity of Tasmania's table, this book takes you on a taste tour and shares the stories behind some of Australia's most sought after ingredients. Exploring lush pastures, hidden valleys and pristine coastal waters, the book is a comprehensive guide to Tasmania's producers, providores, beers and breweries, wines and wineries and restaurants.
A highlight is the 120 delicious recipes carefully selected from 50 of our most popular restaurants that showcase the flavours of the island. This captivating book invites you to take a seat and share the delicious bounty of Tasmania's Table.
Island Magazine
Regular quarterly publication
Price $AU 15.95
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Each issue of this Tasmanian literary journal contains short stories, poetry, reviews and essays. More information about the journal can be found at the Island website.
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