Ada Cambridge and the First Thirty Years
Abstract
Ada Cambridge is now well-known for her 'autobiography' and delightful collection of memoirs, Thirty Years in Australia (London: Methuen, 1903). What is not well-known is that Cambridge published an earlier, and more ingenuous, version (by the same title) in serial form in The Empire Review between July 1901 and December 1902. This serialisation and later publication in book form is typical of Cambridge's strategy. Many minor changes have improved upon her reportage of events, occasionally adding selected detail to enliven eye-witness accounts. What is significant in the final, albeit more expansive, version, however, is Ada Cambridge's 'toning down' of unpalatable truths and personal information for book publication.
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Published 1 May 1990 in Volume 14 No. 3. Subjects: Australian literary magazines, Australian novels & novelists, Autobiographies, Textual criticism & editing, Ada Cambridge, 19th Century Women Writers.
Cite as: Bradstock, Margaret and Louise Wakeling. ‘Ada Cambridge and the First Thirty Years.’ Australian Literary Studies, vol. 14, no. 3, 1990, doi: 10.20314/als.69dbe602b3.