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- The Workingman's Paradise: An Australian Labour Novel
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The Workingman's Paradise: An Australian Labour Novel
by John Miller
Chapters
27 totalIN TWO PARTS. PART I. THE WOMAN TEMPTED HIM. PART II. HE KNEW HIMSELF NAKED.
PREFACE
J.M. - PART I. THE WOMAN TEMPTED HIM. - CHAPTER I. Why Nellie Shows Ned Round. CHAPTER II. Sweating In The Sydney Slums. CHAPTER III. Shorn Like Sheep. CHAPTER IV. Saturday Night In Paddy's Market. CHAPTER V. Were They Conspirators? CHAPTER VI. "We Have Seen The Dry Bones Become Men." CHAPTER VII. A Medley of Conversation. CHAPTER VIII. The Poet And The Pressman. CHAPTER IX. "This Is Socialism!" CHAPTER X. Where The Evil Really Lies. CHAPTER XI. "It Only Needs Enough Faith." CHAPTER XII. Love And Lust. - PART II. HE KNEW HIMSELF NAKED. - CHAPTER I. The Slaughter Of An Innocent. CHAPTER II. On The Road To Queensland. CHAPTER III. A Woman's Whim. CHAPTER IV. The Why Of The Whim. CHAPTER V. As The Moon Waned. CHAPTER VI. Unemployed. CHAPTER VII. "The World Wants Masters." CHAPTER VIII. The Republican Kiss. CHAPTER IX. Ned Goes To His Fate.
—FROM A LETTER. - PART I. - THE WOMAN TEMPTED HIM.
THE WORKINGMAN'S PARADISE - CHAPTER I. - WHY NELLIE SHOWS NED ROUND.
CHAPTER II. - SWEATING IN THE SYDNEY SLUMS.
CHAPTER III. - SHORN LIKE SHEEP.
CHAPTER IV. - SATURDAY NIGHT IN PADDY'S MARKET.
CHAPTER V. - WERE THEY CONSPIRATORS?
CHAPTER VI. - "WE HAVE SEEN THE DRY BONES BECOME MEN."
Description
Set in the dust‑coated streets of late‑1880s Sydney, the novel follows Ned, a dockhand driven by a fierce sense of justice, and Nellie, a spirited woman whose charm pulls him into the city's burgeoning labour movement. Their romance blossoms amid heated tavern debates and bustling market stalls where ideas of socialism circulate like secret passwords. When Ned is suspected of conspiring against the authorities, the pair must weigh their love against the harsh realities of poverty and exploitation. The narrative captures the raw energy of a city on the edge of organized protest.
Through vivid sketches of slums and bustling markets, the story paints a working class desperate for dignity amid crushing oppression. Biblical allegory casts Ned as an Adam‑like figure and Nellie as an Eve, adding mythic weight to the real struggle of unionists facing imprisonment. Readers feel the clash between personal desire and collective hope, while the rising socialist consciousness hums beneath every scene. It is both a love story and a quiet rallying cry for a fairer Australia.
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Language
en
Duration
~8 hours (491K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2005-07-27
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
About the author
John Miller
1861–1917
A fiery journalist and novelist of the early labor movement, he wrote fiction under the pen name John Miller while championing workers' causes in Australia and beyond. His best-known work blends political idealism with storytelling, giving readers a vivid glimpse of radical hopes in the 1890s.
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