Jonah

Jonah is a novel by the Australian author Louis Stone (1871–1935), first published in 1911 by Methuen in London, running to about 293 pages. It is one of the earliest works in Australian literary history set in the inner-city slums of Sydney. The protagonist is Joe Jones, nicknamed "Jonah," a hunchbacked young man who is a leading figure in the street gang "the Push" around Cardigan Street in the Waterloo district of Sydney. The story is divided into two parts: Part One, "Larrikins All," depicts the Saturday-night street markets, clashes between the gang and the crowd, Jonah's romance with Ada and their hasty marriage, and how he leaves the streets to set up his own cobbler's business; Part Two, "The Sign of the Silver Shoe," follows his rise after he hangs out the "Silver Shoe" sign, his entanglement with Clara and others, losses and upheavals within his family, and finally a fatal accident that brings the book to a close. Writing in a manner reminiscent of Zola, Stone uses abundant street slang and group portraits to depict the marketplace ecology of barrow vendors, gang youths, washerwomen, and shoe-shop owners. The novel does not romanticize poverty but presents a paradox: Jonah escapes the slums through shrewdness and ruthlessness, yet ultimately pays a price in emotion and character. Critics often mention this work alongside Robbery Under Arms and others as a foundational text for the "larrikin" figure in prose fiction; in 1982 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation adapted it into a television series.