Anna Maria Bunn
Encyclopedia
Anna Maria Bunn was the anonymous author of The Guardian: a Tale (by an Australian) (1838), the first novel published on mainland Australia and the first in the continent by a woman. Bunn’s authorship was only established after an historian found a copy of the book in which her son had noted his mother’s authorship.
homestead and her brother Terence, who owned Yarralumla
homestead, both in the area of present day Canberra
. She had planned to return to Ireland, but this became impractical.
In 1852 she moved to live at a property in the Braidwood
district which had been owned by Captain Bunn but which the couple had never occupied. In 1860 her youngest son died from a fall from a horse, and five years later his wife and son died of typhoid fever, leaving a daughter Georgiana who was raised by Anna Maria.
Bunn apparently wrote nothing else apart from her novel, but she did produce paintings of insects and flowers which are in the collection of the National Library of Australia
.
and the comedy of manners
. The setting is England and Ireland, with New South Wales only referred to at times in the text, mostly in amusingly disparaging terms. It is written partly in the form of letters
between two former school friends and partly in third person narrative, typical of transitional novels of the time. Themes include the search for security, the issue of whether to marry for love (the author appears to vote against it) and the ups and downs of marriage. However, these are expressed within a melodramatic gothic plot culminating in infanticide and suicide. The author does not seem particularly comfortable with the Gothic sensibility. Dale Spender
points out that although the plot includes the eventual discovery of an incestuous secret (husband and wife discover that they are also brother and sister) the author seems disconcertingly (for a gothic novel) blasé about this turn of affairs, and regards such a situation as simply unfortunate rather than a shocking sin which will be punished.
Life
Anna Maria Murray was born in Ireland and in 1827 came to Australia with her father, who, as a retired army officer, was entitled to a free land grant in New South Wales. Her brother Terence Aubrey Murray also came out, while her brother James remained behind until he had finished training as a surgeon. A year later she married Captain George Bunn, a mariner and merchant, and settled in Pyrmont in Sydney. Captain Bunn died suddenly in 1833, aged 43, leaving Anna Maria aged 25 years, with two small sons and in financial difficulties. It was in the five years after her husband’s death that she wrote the novel. In this time she alternated between living with her brother James, who owned WodenWoden Valley
Woden Valley is a district of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. Its name is taken from the name of a nearby homestead owned by Dr James Murray who named the homestead after the Old English god Woden in October 1837. He named it this as he was to spend his life in the pursuit of wisdom and...
homestead and her brother Terence, who owned Yarralumla
Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory
Yarralumla is a large inner south suburb of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. Located approximately south-west of the city, Yarralumla extends along the south-west bank of Lake Burley Griffin...
homestead, both in the area of present day Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. She had planned to return to Ireland, but this became impractical.
In 1852 she moved to live at a property in the Braidwood
Braidwood
-Places:* Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia* Braidwood, South Lanarkshire, Scotland* Braidwood, Illinois, United States of America-People:* Thomas Braidwood , founder of a school for the deaf in Scotland...
district which had been owned by Captain Bunn but which the couple had never occupied. In 1860 her youngest son died from a fall from a horse, and five years later his wife and son died of typhoid fever, leaving a daughter Georgiana who was raised by Anna Maria.
Bunn apparently wrote nothing else apart from her novel, but she did produce paintings of insects and flowers which are in the collection of the National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
.
Novel
The novel is a competent work that mixes the apparently incongruous modes of the Gothic novelGothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
and the comedy of manners
Comedy of manners
The comedy of manners is a genre of play/television/film which satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class, often represented by stock characters, such as the miles gloriosus in ancient times, the fop and the rake during the Restoration, or an old person pretending to be young...
. The setting is England and Ireland, with New South Wales only referred to at times in the text, mostly in amusingly disparaging terms. It is written partly in the form of letters
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
between two former school friends and partly in third person narrative, typical of transitional novels of the time. Themes include the search for security, the issue of whether to marry for love (the author appears to vote against it) and the ups and downs of marriage. However, these are expressed within a melodramatic gothic plot culminating in infanticide and suicide. The author does not seem particularly comfortable with the Gothic sensibility. Dale Spender
Dale Spender
Dale Spender is an Australian feminist scholar, teacher, writer and consultant.-Early life:Spender was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, a niece of the crime writer Jean Spender . The eldest of three, she has a younger sister Lynne, and a much younger brother Graeme. She attended the Burwood...
points out that although the plot includes the eventual discovery of an incestuous secret (husband and wife discover that they are also brother and sister) the author seems disconcertingly (for a gothic novel) blasé about this turn of affairs, and regards such a situation as simply unfortunate rather than a shocking sin which will be punished.
Further reading
- The Guardian, a tale/ by Anna Maria Bunn (an Australian) with a new introduction by Elizabeth Webby, Canberra, ACT: Mulini Press, 1994.
- Anna Maria Bunn 'The Guardian: chapters 2 and 3 (from The Guardian: a tale)' in Her Selection: Writings by Nineteenth Century Australian Women ed. by Lynne Spender. Ringwood, Victoria, Penguin, 1988 (pp 22–36).
- Clarke, Patricia 'Pen Portraits: Women Writers and Journalists in Nineteenth Century Australia' North Sydney, New South Wales, Allen and Unwin, 1988
- McKiernan, Susan 'Two Early Novelists: Anna Maria Bunn and Mary Theresa VidalMary Theresa VidalMary Theresa Vidal was a British-Australian writer described as Australia's first female novelist.Mary was the daughter of Britton William Johnson and his wife, Mary Theresa, daughter of P. W. Furse. She was a sister of William Johnson, author of Ionica, who took the name of Cory in 1872. She...
' in A Bright and Fiery Troop: Australian Women Writers of the Nineteenth Century ed. By Debra Adelaide. Ringwood, Vic., Penguin, 1988 pp 53–68.
- Bunn, Anna Maria Papers 1826–1889 (manuscript) letters, press cuttings, recipes, etc. (photocopies of the originals of which are in private ownership) in National Library of Australia (NLA MS 2853)