author
Furnley Maurice
1881–1942
A Melbourne poet who wrote under the name Furnley Maurice, he became known for vivid, thoughtful verse and for a fierce protest against war in To God: From the Warring Nations. His life also moved through the world of bookselling and publishing, which helped keep him close to the literary culture of his time.
1 Audiobook
The Bay and Padie book : Kiddie songs
by Furnley Maurice
About the author
Born Frank Leslie Thomson Wilmot in Collingwood, Melbourne, on April 6, 1881, he published most of his writing under the pseudonym Furnley Maurice. He left school young and began working in a Melbourne bookshop, eventually building a career not only as a poet but also as a bookseller and publisher.
His poetry ranged from lyrics and satirical verse to essays, but he is best remembered for To God: From the Warring Nations (1917), a passionate response to the destruction of World War I. That book gave him a lasting place in Australian literature as a writer willing to combine moral force with lyric intensity.
Maurice remained active in literary life in Australia, including work connected with publishing and the broader cultural scene. He died in Melbourne on February 22, 1942, and is still remembered as an important early 20th-century Australian poet.