Physical description

Hard cover book, The Crooked Stick Or Pollie's Probation
Author: Pen Name Rolf Boldrewood For (Thomas Alexander Browne)
Publisher: Macmillan And Co
Printer: Robert Clark
Date: 1895
Blue cloth hardcover and spine with spine lettering in gilt. The label on the spine has a Library Label.

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

The label on the spine cover with typed text RA 823.91 BOL
Flypaper has a person's signature

Summary

The Crooked Stick; or, Pollie's Probation is another of Rolf Boldrewood's lesser-known, late-Victorian novels. Published by Macmillan & Co. in 1895, it takes a sharp departure from his typical bushranger action, operating instead as a domestic social drama set against the backdrop of colonial pastoral life.
The title is derived from an old folk proverb: "Go through the wood and through the wood, and take a crooked stick at last." It serves as a warning against being too selective in choosing a spouse, only to end up with a poor match out of desperation.
The story centres on Pollie Devereux, a beautiful, high-spirited, and wealthy young woman living on Corindgerie, a prosperous Australian sheep station. Following her father's death, she is left under the guardianship of her sensible cousin, Tom Devereux. Tom is deeply in love with Pollie and represents stability, safety, and a traditional life on the land.
Pollie, however, craves the romance, glamour, and sophistication she associates with Europe. Enter Bertram Devereux, an English cousin who arrives from the UK. He is polished, charming, and highly cynical—a classic Victorian "dandy". Pollie is infatuated, and the core of the book follows her "probation", a period of emotional maturity where she must learn to distinguish between superficial English charm and rugged, genuine Australian worth.