Australia Felix (1917) is a novel by Henry Handel Richardson. Based on the life of her parents- Australia Felix is the first in a trilogy of novels later published as The Fortunes of Richard Mahony (1930). The trilogy has earned praise from countless authors and critics for its startling depictions of a man’s decline due to mental illness and the lengths to which his wife must go to care for their young family. “In a shaft on the Gravel Pits- a man had been buried alive. At work in a deep wet hole- he had recklessly omitted to slab the walls of a drive; uprights and tailors yielded under the lateral pressure- and the rotten earth collapsed- bringing down the roof in its train.” Into this dangerous world of mining- Richard Mahony arrives in search of fortune. As the proprietor of Digger’s Emporium- his business depends on the trust of his customers- most of them rugged- hard-drinking gold miners. But the men find it hard to respect Mahony- a teetotaler whose upper-class sensibilities strike them as snobbish at best- insulting at worst. As his store slowly fails- Richard turns his attention to the young Polly Turnham- a servant at the local hotel. When they marry- Polly suggests to her husband that he abandon his business and turn to medicine instead. His practice in Ballarat is a success- allowing them to start a family and live comfortably—for a time. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript- this edition of Henry Handel Richardson Australia Felix is a classic of Australian literature reimagined for modern readers.