Read Flash Jim: The Astonishing Story of the Convict Fraudster Who Wrote Australia's First Dictionary

Flash Jim: The Astonishing Story of the Convict Fraudster Who Wrote Australia's First Dictionary

Kel Richards

4.9/5 (13370 ratings)

Description:The astonishing story of James Hardy Vaux, writer of Australia's first dictionary and first true-crime memoirIf you wear 'togs', tell a 'yarn', call someone 'sly', or refuse to 'snitch' on a friend then you are talking like a convict.These words, and hundreds of others, once left colonial magistrates baffled and police confused. So comprehensible to us today, the flash language of criminals and convicts had marine officer Watkin Tench complaining about the need for an interpreter in the colonial court.Luckily, by 1811, that man was at hand. James Hardy Vaux - conman, pickpocket, absconder and thief, born into comfortable circumstances in England - was so drawn to a life of crime he was transported to Australia ... not once, but three times!Vaux's talents, glibness and audacity were extraordinary, and perceiving an opportunity to ingratiate himself with authorities during his second sentence, he set about writing a dictionary of the criminal slang of the colony, which was recognised for its uniqueness and taken back to England to be published.Kel Richards tells Vaux's story brilliantly, with the help of Vaux's own extraordinarily candid memoir of misdeeds - one of the first true-crime memoirs ever published. Kel's book combines two of his favourite subjects: the inventiveness, humour and origins of Australian English, and our history of fabulous, disreputable characters.With echoes of The Surgeon of Crowthorne as well as Oliver Twist, Flash Jim is a ripping read - especially for those who appreciate the power of words and the convict contribution to our idiom.PRAISE'One of the strongest bonds binding the people of Australia together is the Australian language. We speak a dialect of English richer and more colourful than most. When we call someone a "hoon" or invite a friend to a "barbie" we know immediately what we're talking about - but we have to translate for overseas visitors. This powerful cultural bond was, as Kel explains, built on four foundations. And the most colourful of those four was convict slang. The role that it played, and still plays, in the Australian language, and the story of the man who first recorded it is - as we used to say - a "ripping yarn". It makes a page turning story' - Alan Jones, broadcaster and columnistWe have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Flash Jim: The Astonishing Story of the Convict Fraudster Who Wrote Australia's First Dictionary. To get started finding Flash Jim: The Astonishing Story of the Convict Fraudster Who Wrote Australia's First Dictionary, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Pages: 320

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: HarperCollins - AU

Release: 2021

ISBN: 1460759761

Description: The astonishing story of James Hardy Vaux, writer of Australia's first dictionary and first true-crime memoirIf you wear 'togs', tell a 'yarn', call someone 'sly', or refuse to 'snitch' on a friend then you are talking like a convict.These words, and hundreds of others, once left colonial magistrates baffled and police confused. So comprehensible to us today, the flash language of criminals and convicts had marine officer Watkin Tench complaining about the need for an interpreter in the colonial court.Luckily, by 1811, that man was at hand. James Hardy Vaux - conman, pickpocket, absconder and thief, born into comfortable circumstances in England - was so drawn to a life of crime he was transported to Australia ... not once, but three times!Vaux's talents, glibness and audacity were extraordinary, and perceiving an opportunity to ingratiate himself with authorities during his second sentence, he set about writing a dictionary of the criminal slang of the colony, which was recognised for its uniqueness and taken back to England to be published.Kel Richards tells Vaux's story brilliantly, with the help of Vaux's own extraordinarily candid memoir of misdeeds - one of the first true-crime memoirs ever published. Kel's book combines two of his favourite subjects: the inventiveness, humour and origins of Australian English, and our history of fabulous, disreputable characters.With echoes of The Surgeon of Crowthorne as well as Oliver Twist, Flash Jim is a ripping read - especially for those who appreciate the power of words and the convict contribution to our idiom.PRAISE'One of the strongest bonds binding the people of Australia together is the Australian language. We speak a dialect of English richer and more colourful than most. When we call someone a "hoon" or invite a friend to a "barbie" we know immediately what we're talking about - but we have to translate for overseas visitors. This powerful cultural bond was, as Kel explains, built on four foundations. And the most colourful of those four was convict slang. The role that it played, and still plays, in the Australian language, and the story of the man who first recorded it is - as we used to say - a "ripping yarn". It makes a page turning story' - Alan Jones, broadcaster and columnistWe have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Flash Jim: The Astonishing Story of the Convict Fraudster Who Wrote Australia's First Dictionary. To get started finding Flash Jim: The Astonishing Story of the Convict Fraudster Who Wrote Australia's First Dictionary, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Special Offer | $0.00

Special Offer! | $0.00

Flash Jim: The Astonishing Story of the Convict Fraudster Who Wrote Australia's First Dictionary

Flash Jim: The Astonishing Story of the Convict Fraudster Who Wrote Australia's First Dictionary

More Books

Kel Richards' Dictionary of Australian Phrase and Fable

Kel Richards' Dictionary of Australian Phrase and Fable

The Sinister Student (1930s Murder Mystery, #4)

The Sinister Student (1930s Murder Mystery, #4)

Kel Richards' Wordwatch

Kel Richards' Wordwatch

Kel Richards' pocket guide to clear English

Kel Richards' pocket guide to clear English

The Aussie Bible (Well, Bits of it Anyway!)

The Aussie Bible (Well, Bits of it Anyway!)

The Floating Body (1930s Murder Mystery, #3)

The Floating Body (1930s Murder Mystery, #3)

Murder in the Mummy's Tomb

Murder in the Mummy's Tomb

The Case of the Vanishing Corpse (Ben Bartholomew, #1)

The Case of the Vanishing Corpse (Ben Bartholomew, #1)

The Lamington Man

The Lamington Man