There were likely to be deserts enough for Goliath to feel quite at home, he said. But that gave rise to a puzzle as to why we would want to go exploring there. Never mind. My task was to record what we saw.
By his training as a profilist - a silhouette painter - Ethan Dibble has learned to take a sidelong view of life. When he arrives in early colonial South Australia he has no idea of what to expect; but with his knack for observation and detachment, and a wry sense of humour, he finds that the variety of activity and events provides colour in plenty. There is no black and white here. First Adelaide, then the Victorian goldfields, then Sydney and Melbourne attract his wandering attentiveness.
In The Profilist, Adrian Mitchell paints a compelling picture of the early years of the Australian colonies, in the imagined voice of the artist Samuel Thomas Gill - or someone very like him.
$9.95 – $29.95
Adrian Mitchell was born in Adelaide, and for many years taught and published in Australian literature, at the University of Adelaide and then at the University of Sydney, where he remains an Honorary Research Associate. His interest now is in retrieving the stories of those who have been passed over or forgotten, and in finding new ways of re-presenting them.
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'What an enthralling tale of early colonial life! ... The book is a delight and a highly recommended read.' - Helen Stagg, Journal of Australian Colonial History
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'The Profilist is a lively read. The pace is lively, rollicking even, and Dibble's elegant language is laced with unrelenting humour ... Another fine production by Wakefield Press.' - Gay Lynch, Transnational Literature
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'[The Profilist] takes us through a fascinating journey through colonial Australia, along the way describing some of the iconic works by Gill, lending to the descriptions a personal insider view ... An enjoyable and thoroughly readable book.' - Professor Sasha Grishin, Sydney Morning Herald
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'The Profilist is an absorbing and satisfying book. The research is meticulous, the use of Gill's paintings is clever and illuminating. But for me the most enthralling aspect of the book is the voice of Ethan Dibble. He is not an 'unreliable' narrator. He draws you in with a quiet, subversive wit, explaining the world around it and his place in it - slightly to one side, observing - as it happens.' - Gillian Dooley, Journal of the Historical Society of South Australia
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'This is history as I always longed for it to be told. This book makes history a treat. Any student of Australian history, or any student of history at all, would relish this book.' - Sue Woolf
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'The Profilist is a splendid example of playing with the historical truth to tell a riveting story, the story of our fledgling nation, through the observant eyes of an artist. This novel brings history alive ... The Profilist is a sparkling, witty novel, telling a history we all know (or jolly well should know!) and peopled with a parade of historical figures ranging from Marcus Clarke to Ned Kelly and Sir Redmond Barry ... It's a delightful book.' - Lisa Hill, ANZLitLovers
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'Adrian Mitchell has produced a compelling picture of the early years of South Australia and some of the other colonies in the imagined voice of Samuel Thomas Gill, or someone very much like him. In doing so he has also succeeded in highlighting Gill's contribution to its visible record. According to Mitchell, Samuel Gill was one of those men who happened to be in the right places at the right times - and what times they were - and he recorded them in all their turbulent vitality.' - Nic Klaassen, Flinders Ranges Research Journal