''The Moods of Ginger Mick'' is a

verse novel A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there is usually a large cast, multiple voices, ...

by Australian poet and journalist

C. J. Dennis Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis (7 September 1876 – 22 June 1938), better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet and journalist known for his best-selling verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' (1915). Alongside ...

, published by

Angus and Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

, in 1916. The collection includes fifteen illustrated plates by Hal Gye. The novel is a sequel to the poet's ''

The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' is a verse novel by Australian poet and journalist C. J. Dennis. Portions of the work appeared in ''The Bulletin (Australian periodical), The Bulletin'' between 1909 and 1915, the year the verse novel was comp ...

'' and tells the story of Ginger Mick, a minor character from that first novel. Eight of the poems included here were first published in '' The Bulletin'' magazine; the rest were published here for the first time.

Dedication

* "To the boys who took the count"

* "

Introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

" * " Duck an' Fowl" * "

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

" * " The Call of Stoush" * " The Push" * " Sari Bair" * " Ginger's Cobber" * " The Singing Soldiers" * " In Spadger's Lane" * " The Straight Griffen" * " A Letter to the Front" * "

Rabbits Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...

" * " To the Boys Who Took the Count" * " The Game" * " A Gallant Gentleman"

Critical reception

A reviewer in ''The Daily Telegraph'' (Sydney) compared this book with the previous one by the author: "The undercurrent of seriousness in these verses is of immediate interest; but it has not the universal application of the first volume. On that account, and because ''The Moods of Ginger Mick'' is a second effort in the same manner, it is not so attractive as ''The Sentimental Bloke.'' It is, however, remarkably successful as a continuation of the style and language of that book. The local argot, part native and part American, is limited in extent, and Mr. Dennis has rung the changes on it without appearing monotonous. His skill as a versifier and his unfailing humor have made 'Ginger Mick' as real and interesting a personage as his mate of the first book. It is quite in character that the former should be matter of fact, and that the latter should supply all the sentimentality there is in the second book." The critic in ''The Age'' had a similar view: "After the difficult process of making a reputation comes the equally difficult one of living up to it. With ''The Sentimental Bloke'' C. J. Dennis gained a place in the public estimation in the very forefront of Australian poets. No other Australian book of verse has had so wide a circulation or gathered for its author so large a bouquet of literary praise. These are very definite disadvantages that his new book is now obliged to face. It will be widely read, because every reader of ''The Sentimental Bloke'' is bound to seek a copy, and it will be judged for good or bad accordingly. This is in many ways a pity. ''The Moods of Ginger Mick'' is a volume of good Australian verse, none of it slovenly or flat, some of it very brilliant and human, but it is not as good, not anything like as good as 'The Sentimental Bloke'. There are two poems in the volume, 'In Spadger's-lane' and 'A Gallant Gentleman' that are as fine as anything that Dennis has ever written, they indeed ensure his reputation as one of Australia's foremost poets; but there are thirteen other poems in the book, and some are very nearly dull. The Sentimental Bloke wrote of himself and Doreen with spontaneity; he seems to write of Ginger Mick out of a sense of duty. His shrewd philosophy (save in the two poems named) has become didactic and platitudinous. This is all criticism 'in comparison.' Had the book stood alone we might justly stress the consummate skill with which Dennis handles Australian slang, his mastery of many different verse forms, and his sure ear for good swinging rhythm."

Publication history

After the initial publication of the collection by Angus and Robertson in 1916, it was reissued as follows: * Angus and Robertson, Australia, 1916 - Trench edition * Angus and Robertson, Australia, reprinted 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920 * Angus and Robertson, UK, 1917 * S. B. Gundy, Canada and John Lane Co, USA, 1917, 1918 * Angus and Robertson, Australia, 1976 * Kessinger Publishing, USA, 2008 * Sydney University Press, Australia, 2009 * HarperCollins, Australia, 2018 - Trench edition facsimile * An eBook edition: edited by John Gough: 2017. ''The Annotated Moods of Ginger Mick''. (Amazon US)

Film adaptation

The novel was adapted for the screen in 1920 under the title ''Ginger Mick''. The silent film was directed by

Raymond Longford Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford; 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer, and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australia ...

from a screenplay by Longford and

Lottie Lyell Lottie Lyell (born Charlotte Edith Cox, 23 February 1890 – 21 December 1925) was an Australian actress, screenwriter, film editing, editor and filmmaker. She is regarded as Australia's first film star, and also contributed to the local industr ...

. It featured Gilbert Emery as Ginger Mick,

Arthur Tauchert Arthur Michael Tauchert (pronounced "Torcher") (21 August 1877 – 27 November 1933) was an Australian acrobatic comedian, dancer, singer, film actor, and star of the Australian silent film, ''The Sentimental Bloke'' (1919). Biography Born in t ...

as The Bloke and Lottie Lyell as Doreen. The film is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

as no copies have survived.

Note

* Dennis had intended to include the poem " The Battle of Wazzir" in the 1916 edition, however it was removed at the insistence of the censor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moods of Ginger Mick, The 1916 Australian novels Novels set in Melbourne Verse novels Australian novels adapted into films Poems adapted into films Poetry by C. J. Dennis Angus & Robertson books Works originally published in The Bulletin (Australian periodical) Works based on The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke