Ernest William Hornung

A Bride from the Bush . Novel by Ernest William Hornung

A Bride from the Bush is the first novel written by E. W. Hornung. He started writing the book while working as a tutor for Charles Joseph Parsons in Mossgiel Station, New South Wales, Australia. The novel was initially published by Smith, Elder & Co. as a serial in the Cornhill Magazine, and then published in book format by the same company in October 1890. As with Tiny Luttrell and The Unbidden Guest, two of Hornung's other early novels, A Bride from the Bush points out flaws in British society by presenting the country through an Australian perspective. A reviewer from The New York Times called the novel "a most piquant contrast between civilization and crudity." The writer Thomas Alexander Browne called the titular character of A Bride from the Bush "a libel to Australian womankind." A Punch editor made the opposite claim, arguing that the protagonist of the novel is more kind-hearted and attractive than actual Australians.