The Anzac Legacy of C J Dennis
The Laureate of the Larrikin
$38.24
- Hardcover
208 pages
- Release Date
1 September 2026
Summary
‘I picked it up as an attractive and unusual opportunity, but read it cover to cover, smiling and laughing at CJ Dennis’ humour and insight, and from time to time, slowing down to absorb the pathos and sadness that is part of the Anzac legacy.’ — General Sir Peter Cosgrove AK CVO MC
150 years on, the voice that captured a generation returns to tell the Anzac story in full. In 2026, the 150th anniversary of C J Dennis marks a major moment of rediscovery. Austr…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781923720152 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1923720155 |
| Author: | C.J. Dennis, Darryl Stuart |
| Publisher: | Big Sky Publishing |
| Imprint: | Big Sky Publishing |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 208 |
| Release Date: | 1 September 2026 |
| Dimensions: | 250mm x 250mm |
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About The Author
C.J. Dennis
Editor
Darryl Stuart grew up in Far North Queensland before entering the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1977. He served for 20 years in the Australian Army, during which time he became an ardent collector and advocate of C J Dennis’s work. His private collection includes more than 200 editions and rare items, including a ‘Frank Roberts’ pre-first edition copy of The Sentimental Bloke. Following a 25-year entrepreneurial business career, he retired in Brisbane.
To mark the 150th anniversary of C J Dennis in 2026, Darryl launched a website to promote the poet’s life and work, and edited this collection to highlight Dennis’s significant contribution to Australia’s Anzac legacy.
Author
C J Dennis (1876–1938), Australia’s ‘Laureate of the Larrikin’, was the nation’s most popular poet of his time. He created enduring characters such as The Sentimental Bloke, Doreen and Ginger Mick, and sold more than 700,000 books while publishing over 4,000 poems.
Beyond his celebrated vernacular verse, Dennis played an important role in shaping Australia’s culture of remembrance after the Great War. He wrote of the conflict in The Moods of Ginger Mick, of its aftermath in Digger Smith, and from 1922 to 1938 contributed annually to the Melbourne Herald with poems marking Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.
These works, written as the men of the AIF aged and a new generation inherited their story, form a significant and long-overlooked part of Australia’s Anzac tradition.
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