Our New Selection (Dodo Press)

Arthur Hoey Davis (1868-1935) who also wrote under the pseudonym Steele Rudd, was an Australian author. Towards the end of 1895 he sent a sketch to The Bulletin which afterwards became the first chapter of On Our Selection when it was published in 1899. Encouraged by J. F. Archibald, Davis continued the series of sketches, 26 of which were included in the volume. Within four years 20,000 copies had been printed. It afterwards appeared in numerous cheap editions and by 1940 the number of copies sold had reached 250,000. It has also been the subject of a play and more than one picture. In 1903 appeared Our New Selection and in the same year Davis, who had reached the position of under-sheriff, retired from the public service. In 1904, Davis brought out Rudd's Magazine, a monthly magazine published at 6d. a copy, which continued for nearly four years. Towards the end of his life appeared two capable books The Romance of Runnibede (1927), and Green Grey Homestead (1934). His reputation was established by his short stories of country life.