Jonah: Louis Stone

First published in 1911 and regarded as the the first great novel of Sydney, it captured the city's spirit - the heat of summer, the grey glint of autumn mists, the grime and colour of the slums and the bustle of the streets and markets; an evocative portrayal of Sydney and her colourful cast of characters during the turn-of-the-century larrikin days. Jonah is the tough hunch-backed larrikin who rises from the street-gangs to success in big business in the early 1900s; there is also the Falstaffian Mrs Yabsley; and the romance between the larrikin Chook and his red-haired Pinkey.