True Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia Volume 2
First there was Girt. Now comes …
True Girt.
In this side-splitting sequel to his best-selling history, David Hunt transports us to the Australian frontier.
This was the Wild South, home to hardy pioneers, gun-slinging bushrangers, directionally challenged explorers, nervous Indigenous people, Caroline Chisholm and sheep. Lots of sheep.
True Girt introduces Thomas Davey, the hard-drinking Tasmanian governor who invented the Blow My Skull cocktail, and Captain Moonlite, Australia’s most notorious LGBTI bushranger. Meet William Nicholson, the Melbourne hipster who gave Australia the steam-powered coffee roaster and the world the secret ballot. And say hello to Harry, the first camel used in Australian exploration, who shot dead his owner, the adventurer John Horrocks.
Learn how Truganini’s death inspired the Martian invasion of Earth. Discover the role of Hall and Oates in the Myall Creek Massacre. And be reminded why you should never ever smoke with the Wild Colonial Boy and Mad Dan Morgan.
If Manning Clark and Bill Bryson were left on a desert island with only one pen, they would write True Girt.
Awards
Praise for Girt
“An engaging, witty and utterly irreverent take on Australian history.”
— Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project“Astounding, gruesome and frequently hilarious, True Girt is riveting from beginning to end.”
— Nick Earls‘David Hunt’s riotous, hilarious and enthralling history of Australia cleverly belies the weight and breadth of his knowledge. Unputdownable. I loved it.’
— Paula Byrne, author of the international bestsellers The Real Jane Austen and Kick: The True Story of JFK's Sister and the Heir to Chatsworth‘It is all as hilarious as the first book and delves into serious history, albeit in a not very serious manner.’
— Daily Telegraph‘Another entertaining, opinionated and thought-provoking take on the great Australian story’
— Tom Gilling, Weekend Australian‘True Girt will undoubtedly be as popular as Girt, and fans of both will no doubt look forward to whatever subsequent volumes are planned.’
— Hobart Mercury‘Erudition leavened with wit, this should be a definite addition to your bookshelf’
— Big Issue‘[David Hunt] is an irreverent writer who makes history accessible through humour.’
— Stephen Romei, Weekend Australian‘True Girt is a fresh, funny and highlyentertaining account of a sometimes bloody history that will make the most reluctant student of history sit up and listen —and laugh.’
— Judges Notes, 2017 Russell Prize for Humour Writing