The Home Fires by Anthony Splivalo

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor wear to book corners and edges. Minor marks on back cover under dust jacket. Very light foxing to foredges.

The Home Fires is an autobiography of remarkable clarity and sensitivity, which provides valuable insight into Australian society both before and during World War One. In particular, it presents a vivid account of the experiences on the home front of non-British immigrants during those terrible war years.

Anthony Spivalo's life in Australia before the war was most unusual; he spent little time among his fellow Dalmations but lived, worked and socialized almost exclusively with 'Britishers'. He, therefore, had a far greater opportunity than the overwhelming majority of migrants from Southern Europe to become and feel Australian.

The Home Fires is especially valuable given the paucity of material on the experience of immigrants and the internment of enemy aliens in Australia during that period. (book flap)