Review by Choice Review
Dixon's account lacks an adequate conclusion and its central thesis is somewhat belabored. It is, nevertheless, an elegantly written analysis of the neoclassical vision of empire as it applied to frontier Australian society in the first half of the 19th century. The course of empire concept held that societies passed through a series of predictable stages from savagery to mercantile civilization via pastoralism. Dixon, an award-winning Australian academic, traces this passage from rudeness to refinement along vertical and horizontal axes. He demonstrates how the poetry, painting, and exploratory literature of the day illustrated the transformation of a convict settlement into an antipodean Rome, and how human progress toward enlightenment unfolded in reverse as one journeyed from Sydney into the interior. Although the author draws instructive parallels between Australian and American frontier reportage, he rather puzzlingly fails to make similar comparisons in the realm of painting and poetry. The book is well illustrated, has a good index, and is suitable for those interested in the frontier phenomenon, intellectual and artistic history, and Australian development. College, university, and public libraries.-J.A. Boutilier, Royal Roads Military College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
