Physical description

Hard cover book. Ulima Thule
Author: Ethel Florence Lindesay ( Pen Name Henry Handel Richardson)
Publisher: William Heinemann & Co
Date: 1929
Further Information: Black Cloth front hardcover with lettering and embossed patterning. Rebound brown spine with red reinforced cloth strip. The spine has a Library label with an inscription.

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

The label on the spine with typed text 823 RIC
Flyleaf has a stamp from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute. Paste down front end paper has a sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library. Front loose end paper has a sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Service. Front loose end paper has a stamp from Corangamite Regional Library Service

Summary

Ultima Thule (1929) is the landmark third and final novel in the acclaimed trilogy The Fortunes of Richard Mahony by Ethel Florence Lindesay ( Pen Name Henry Handel Richardson). The synopsis of Ultima Thule follows the final, tragic chapter of Dr Richard Mahony's life. Having lost his wealth due to poor investments and misplaced trust, the forty-nine-year-old Mahony returns to Australia financially ruined. Forced to restart his medical practice in the rural Victorian towns of Chiltern and Koroit, Mahony suffers a severe physical and mental breakdown driven by early-onset neurosyphilis and profound alienation from his surroundings. The narrative focuses on mental and physical decay, with a harrowing and realistic depiction of Mahony's descent into dementia and insanity. The psychological struggle of his steadfast wife, Mary (Polly), is also depicted, as she steps up to support the family amidst social stigma and poverty within the harsh Australian landscape, alongside her own alienation as an exile in an unyielding environment.