Louisa Atkinson - a bibliography

Carolina Louisa Waring Atkinson Calvert (25 February 1834 - 28 April 1872), commonly known as Louisa Atkinson, was the daughter of James Atkinson (1794-1834) and Charlotte Barton Atkinson nee Waring (1796-1867) of Oldbury Farm, Sutton Forest. She was a novelist, journalist, naturalist, artist and partner. Louisa variously lived at Oldbury on the Southern Highlands of New South Wales Australia; Sydney; Kurrajong near the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney; and Cavan near Yass, on the south west slopes of New South Wales.

Bibliography

The following annotated chronological bibliography includes works written by Louisa Atkinson, plus those about her, or in relation to her since her tragic death in 1872. All works are by Atkinson unless otherwise indicated. A detailed catalogue listing which includes references to numerous reprints of her novel is found here at Worldcat. A number of significant events in regards to celebration of the life and work of Louisa Atkinson are also included. It should be noted that many items from her newspaper column A Voice from the Country, and some of her novels, were published in both the Sydney Morning Herald and the Sydney Mail. A brief listing of her manuscript sketchbooks is also included. In that regard, there remains confusion over whether her mother Charlotte Barton and sister Caroline are also responsible for some of the artworks.

1841

* Anonymous [Charlotte Barton], A Mother’s Offerings to Her Children. By a Lady Long Resident in New South Wales, Sydney, 1841 (republished 1979). This is Australia's first locally published children's book. Though a semi-fictional work, it includes a number of conversations between mother and child, of which one has been identified as Charlotte's daughter Louisa.

1853

* Native Moths, October, Illustrated Sydney News, 15 October 1853, 2.

* The Native Arts, No.1, Illustrated Sydney News, 26 November 1853. Illustrated.

* Notes of the Moths. December, Illustrated Sydney News, 3 December 1853, 4.

1854

* Notes of the Month. January, Illustrated Sydney News, 7 January 1854, 4.

* Notes on the Month. February, Illustrated Sydney News, 25 February 1854, 2.

1857

* Gertrude the Emigrant: A Tale of Colonial Life, by an Australian Lady, J.R. Clarke, Sydney, 1857. Illustrated. Reprinted 1998. This is cited as the first novel by an Australian born author - refer 2022 review.

1859

* Cowanda, The Veteran's Grant, An Australian Story by the Author of Gertrude, J.R. Clarke, Sydney, 1859. Reprinted 1995.

* A Voice from the Country. November, Sydney Morning Herald,12 December 1859, 8.

1860

* A Voice from the Country. December, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 January 1860, 8.

* A Voice from the Country. January, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 March 1860, 3.

* A Voice from the Country. March, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 April 1860, 2.

* Flying Fox Hunting in the Blue Mountains, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 April 1860, 2.

* A Voice from the Country. April, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 May 1860, 5.

* A Voice from the Country. May, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 June 1860, 5.

* A Voice from the Country. July, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 July 1860, 5.

* A Voice from the Country. The Kurrajong Waterfalls, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 August 1860, 2.

* A Voice from the Country. August, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 September 1860, 2.

* A Voice from the Country. Burrolow, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 October 1860, 6.

* Louisa Atkinson (words) and R.A. Spagnoletti (music), Cooey! An Australia Song, John Davis, Sydney, 1860.

* Louisa Atkinson (words) and S. Nelson (music), The Light from the Mountain,: Favourite Ballad, Edward Arnold, Melbourne, 1860s.

1861

* A Voice from the Country. Mount Tomah, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 January 1861, 2.

* A Voice from the Country. Ovaology, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 March 1861, 2.

* A Voice from the Country. Reptilia, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 May 1861, 2.

* A Voice from the Country. Antechinus Bees, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 July 1861, 5.

* Debatable Ground:or, the Carlillawarra Claimants, [serial], Sydney Mail, 30 March - 7 September 1861. Reprinted 1992.

* A Voice from the Country. A Winter's Garland, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 July 1861, 2.

1862

* A Voice from the Country. Springwood, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 March 1862, 5.

* A Voice from the Country. A Peep into the Herb Doctor's Basket, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 June 1862, 5.

* A Voice from the Country. Botanical Ramblings, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 September 1862, 5.

* A Voice from the Country. Orchidaceae, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 October 1862, 2.

1863

* A Voice from the Country. Epacridease, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 January 1863, 8.

* A Voice from the Country. Ferns and their Haunts, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 February 1863, 2.

* A Voice from the Country. Insects and Insect Feeders, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 May 1863, 7.

* A Voice from the Country. A Summer Picture, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 July 1863, 3.

* Recollections of the Aborigines, Sydney Mail, 12, 19 & 26 September 1863. Series in 3 parts.

1864

* Myra, by the authoress of Debatable Ground, [serial], Sydney Mail, 27 February - 23 April 1864.

* A Voice from the Country. Balonne Lizard, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 July 1864, 5.

1865

* A Voice from the Country, [#?] Sydney Mail, 6 May 1865.

1870

* A Voice from the Country. After Shells in Limestone, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 May 1870, 5.

* A Voice from the Country. Climatic Influences on the Habits of Birds, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 June 1870, 5.

* Fitzroy Iron Mines, Sydney Morning Herald,9 November 1870, 5.

1871

* The Tourist, Sydney Mail, 7 January - 11 February 1871. Series in ? parts.

* Fitzroy Falls, Sydney Mail, ? January 1871.

* Tom Hellicar's Children, [serial], Sydney Mail, 4 March - 24 June 1871. Serial. Reprinted 1983.

* A New Bush Home, by a Country House Mother, Sydney Mail, 21 October - 2 December 1871.

1872

* Tressa's Resolve, [serial], Sydney Mail, 31 August - 7 December 1872.

{Louisa Atkinson died at the age of 38 of congenital heart failure on 28 April 1872}

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1874

* William Woolls, A sermon preached in St. Peter's Church, Richmond, on Sunday, April 12th, 1874, on the occasion of a tablet being placed in that church to the memory of the late Mrs. [Louisa Artkinson] Calvert, Benjamin Isaacs, Sydney, 1874, 16p.

1978

* Louisa Atkinson, A Voice from the Country, Mulini Press, Canberra, 1978, 32p. Collection of articles from the Sydney Mail, 1861-1865. [reprint]

1979

* J.M. Smail, Louisa Atkinson of the Kurrajong, The Kurrajong Heights Garden Club, 1979, 20p. Illustrated.

* Charlotte Barton, A Mother’s Offerings to Her Children. By a Lady Long Resident in New South Wales, Jacaranda Press, Brisbane, 1979. [reprint]

1980

* Louisa Atkinson, Excursions from Berrima and a trip to Manaro and Molonglo in the 1870s, Mulini Press, Canberra, 1980. [reprint]

* Marcie Muir, Charlotte Barton - Australia's First Children's Author, Wentworth Books, Sydney, 1980.

1983

* Louisa Atkinson, Tom Hellicar's Children, Mulini Press, Canberra, 1983, 103p. [reprint]

1988

* Elizabeth Lawson, Louisa Atkinson, Naturalist and Novelist, in Debra Adelaide (editor), Women Authors, Australian - 19th Century, Series: Penguin Australian Women's Library, Penguin, Ringwood, 1988, 68-83.

* Louisa Atkinson, Myra [1864], Mulini Press, Canberra, c.988.

1989

* Elizabeth Lawson, Louisa Atkinson: The Distant Sound of Native Voices, Occasional Paper No.15, English Department, University College, Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, June 1989, 72p. [discussion + reprint]

1990

* Patricia Clarke, Pioneer Writer: The Life of Louisa Atkinson, Novelist, Journalist, Naturalist, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1990.

1992

* Louisa Atkinson, Debatable Ground:or, the Carlillawarra Claimants, Mulini Press, Canberra, 1992, 117p. [reprint]

1995

Louisa Atkinson, Cowanda, The Veteran's Grant, An Australian Story by the Author of Gertrude, Mulini Press, Canberra, 1995. [reprint]

* Elizabeth Lawson, The Natural Art of Louisa Atkinson, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, 1995.

1997

* Victor Crittenden, Louisa Atkinson and her novels, Mulini Press, Canberra, 1997.

1998

* Louisa Atkinson, Gertrude the Emigrant: A Tale of Colonial Life, by an Australian Lady, ADFA School of English and Australian Scholarly Edition, Canberra, 1998. Edited by Elizabeth Lawson. [reprint]

* Louisa Atkinson, The Oldbury Sketchbook, Trish & David Sherborn, Sutton Forest, 1998.

2002

* Louisa Atkinson, Gertrude the Emigrant: A Tale of Colonial Life, by an Australian Lady, [open access download], University of Sydney & University of North Dakota Scholarly Commons, 2002.

* Louisa Atkinson, Enclyclopedia of World Biography, 2002, volume 22.

2003

* EVENT: The Mount Tomah Event was held at the Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales in November 2003. Louisa lived for some years in the Blue Mountains. This event was organised by Mary Reynolds of the Mount Tomah Historical Society and Jan Allen of the Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens. Louisa visited Mount Tomah and wrote about it in one of her articles in A Voice from the Country. Held in the Visitor's Centre in the Gardens there was a walk in the surrounding bush land and a visit to see one of the native plants named after Louisa by Ferdinand von Mueller which was in full bloom. Then there were two talks. The first by Patricia Clarke, the author of the definitive biography of Louisa Atkinson. She spoke on Louisa's life and her writings as a journalist in her long series A Voice from the Country. This talk was followed by Victor Crittenden of the Mulini Press talking about publishing Louisa Atkinson's novels. There was also a display of some of the paintings by Louisa arranged by Mary Reynolds This was concluded by afternoon tea and conversation on Louisa and her work.

2004

* Megan Brown, Louisa Atkinson and 19th century women's journalism, Margin, 63, 2004, 18-35.

* Louisa Atkinson, Tressa's Resolve [1872], Mulini Press, c.2004.

* EVENT: The Fitzroy Falls event was held at the Visitor's Centre at Fitzroy Falls in February 2004. This was Louisa Atkinson's home country. She was born in nearby 'Oldbury' situated in the Moss Vale--Berrima district of New South Wales and she lived there at various stages of her life. One of her articles in A Voice from the Country is about Fitzroy Falls, a beautiful sight where the silver waters from a small river fall over a cliff way down into the valley below. There were four talks at this afternoon event which included a 'high tea'. Patricia Clarke spoke to a large audience on Louisa's life and writings. Victor Crittenden again spoke on publishing Louisa's novels and Elizabeth Lawson spoke on the Natural Art of Louisa Atkinson, showing some slides of her work. The prize talk of the afternoon was by Jan Allen from staff of the Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens. This was about Louisa's botanical collecting and Jan Allen spoke about her detective work in locating some of the material relating to Louisa's correspondence with Ferdinand von Mueller in the Herbarium in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. Margin hopes to publish this talk in a future issue. This event was organised by Beth Broughton, an enthusiastic staff member of the Fitzroy Falls Visitor's Centre. If you are going to the South coast of New South Wales take the Nowra Road from Moss Vale and stop at the Visitor's Centre, have a coffee and a look at the Janet Cosh room (Janet Cosh was Louisa's granddaughter) and see the nearby Fitzroy Falls.

2005

* Caroline Jordan, Picturesque Pursuits: Colonial Women Artists and the Amateur Tradition, Melbourne University Press, 2005.

2008

* Patricia Clarke, Literary links to a nineteenth-century murder: Tracing Louisa Atkinson's ostensibly missing step-father, George Bruce Barton, Margin (Monash Australiana Research Group), 74, 2008, 8-18.

2009

* Patricia Clarke, James Calvert, Louisa Atkinson and the plains of promise: the story behind Louisa Atkinson's last novel, Margin (Monash Australiana Research Group), 77, 2009, 19-34.

2015

* Penny Olsen, Louisa Atkinson's Nature Notes, National Library of Australia, Canberra, 2015.

2019

* Nicole Criton-Brown, Cavan Station: Its Early History, the Riley Legacy and the Murdoch Vision, HarperCollins, Sydney, 2019, 232p.

* Aedeen Cremin, Cavan through the eyes of Louisa Atkinson, Yass Tribune, 28 March 2019 [subscription access only]. Louisa Atkinson lived at Cavan, near Yass, between 1869-70 when she married its manager, and former explorer, James Snowden Calvert (13 July 1825 – 22 July 1884).

2020

* Kate Hudson and Belinda Murrell, Searching for Charlotte: The Fascinating Story of Australia's First Children's Author, National Library of Australia (NLA) Publishing, 2020, 304p.

2021

* Grace Moore, ‘Then came the high unpromising forests, and miles of loneliness’ - Louisa Atkinson’s recasting of the Australian landscape, in Sarah Comyn and Porscha Fermanis (editors), Wording in the South: Nineteenth century literature culture and the southern settler colonies, Manchester University Press, 2021.

* -----, "A few good seasons will restore prosperity to the land": Louisa Atkinson's depiction of drought, Victorian Review, John Hopkins University Press, 47(1), Spring 2021, 5-9.

2022

* Bill Holloway, Louisa Atkinson - Gertrude the Emigrant (review), Australian Women's Writers Challenge - The Early Years [blog], 16 February 2022.

* Elizabeth Lhuede, Suffering resistance and resilience: Representations of Indigenous people in works by Eliza Dunlop, Louisa Atkinson, Amy Susannah Staniforth, and Marie Braithwaite, Australian Women's Writers Challenge - The Early Years [blog], 2 March 2022.

* Whispering Gums, Louisa Atkinson, pioneer woman journalist, Australian Women's Writers Challenge - The Early Years [blog], 27 April 2022.

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Artworks

Louisa Atkinson worked in pencil and watercolour. She primarily drew landscapes dotted with figures Aborigines buildings such as Oldbury, but mostly featuring native flora and fauna. A number are illustrated in Olsen 2015. All works are pencil and/or watercolour on paper, unless otherwise indicated. A number of her works, and those by her mother, were reproduced as engraved prints during her lifetime. Link are provided to catalogued listings of sketchbooks and individual artworks.

* [Charlotte Atkinson Barton], Album of Watercolour Drawings, PXA 579, volumes 1 & 2, State Library of New South Wales. Inscribed Jane Emily Atkinson c.1848.

* Louisa Atkinson, Natural History and Botanical Drawings, c.1849-1872, PX*D 640, State Library of New South Wales. 60 drawings + 3 photographs.

* Louisa Atkinson, Natural History and Botanical Drawings, c.1849-1872, PX*D 940, State Library of New South Wales.

* Louisa Atkinson, Sketchbook of Miscellaneous Drawings, c.1855-1872, PXA 4500, State Library of New South Wales.

* Louisa Atkinson, Ferns, 1855-1872, PXA 4498, State Library of New South Wales.

* Louisa Atkinson, Sketchbook comprising mainly natural history drawings, 1855-1872, PXA 4499, State Library of New South Wales.

* Louisa Atkinson et al., Collection of Sketches owned by Louisa Atkinson, 1855-1872, PXA 4501, State Library of New South Wales.

* Louisa Atkinson, [Birds, 1860s], National Library of Australia. Illustrated Olson 102.

* Louisa Atkinson, Pass through the Blue Mountains, National Gallery of Australia. Illustrated Olsen 46.

* Louisa Atkinson, Jim Vaughan or Yarrawambie, aged chief of Budjong and Jindiendie, N.S. Wales, [1863], National Library of Australia. Reproduced as a print in 1863.

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Last updated: 13 September 2023

Michael Organ, Australia (Home)