Frank Sargeson (1903–1982)

Author of The Stories

29+ Works 192 Members 1 Review

About the Author

Frank Sargeson won international recognition as a writer whose work reflects a strong New Zealand sensibility. Born and raised in Hamilton, he trained as a lawyer. Seeking to escape the puritanical restraints of his family, he traveled to England but returned two years later, in 1928. Sargeson's show more first book, Conversation with My Uncle and Other Sketches, appeared in 1936. The writer continued to publish throughout his life, including novels and plays, as well as autobiography and criticism, but his short stories remain his major accomplishment. The fact that much of his work is out of print may suggest the changing fashions in literary tastes. Still, Sargeson is an important figure in New Zealand literature. Contemporary criticism tends to see his work not merely as a realistic depiction of New Zealand life but as a fictional process preoccupied with identity: "gender identity, national identity, economic identity, social identity, and cultural identity," in the words of Lydia Wevers. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the name: Sargeson Frank

Series

Frank Sargeson's memoirs

Works by Frank Sargeson

Popular Recent

The Stories (1964) 47 copies, 1 review

Memoirs of a Peon (1983) 22 copies

Collected stories (1964) 21 copies

Conversation in a Train and Other Critical Writings (1984) 11 copies

Letters of Frank Sargeson (2012) 10 copies

More Than Enough (1975) 9 copies

I saw in my dream (New Zealand fiction ; 8) (1974) 9 copies

Sargeson (1981) 6 copies

The Hangover (1984) 6 copies

Frank Sargeson's Stories (2010) 6 copies

That summer, and other stories (1946) 5 copies

A man and his wife (1940) 5 copies

Never enough : places and people mainly (1977) 4 copies

Joy of the worm (1969) 4 copies

Man of England now ; with, I for one-- ; and, A game of hide and seek 3 copies

Rakonto de maljunulo = Old man's story 3 copies

Tandem - The Chain by Edith Campion & En Route by Frank Sargeson (1979) 3 copies

When the wind blows 3 copies

Once is enough;: A memoir (1973) 3 copies

Speaking for ourselves 2 copies

Conversation with my uncle and other sketches (1988) 2 copies

Conversation In A Train 1 copy

Conversation with my uncle 1 copy

Sunset Village (1976) 1 copy

Man of England Now (1972) 1 copy

The Undertaker's Story 1 copy

I for One 1 copy

Wrestling with the angel, two plays : a time for sowing, and, the cradle & the egg 1 copy

The Selected Letters of of Frank Sargeson (2012) 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Some Other Country: New Zealand's Best Short Stories (1984) — Contributor — 71 copies, 1 review

New Zealand Short Stories: 1st Series (1953) — Contributor — 38 copies

The Flamingo Anthology of New Zealand Short Stories (2000) — Contributor — 22 copies

Modern Short Stories 2: 1940-1980 (1982) — Contributor — 12 copies

The Penguin New Writing No. 27 (1946) — Contributor — 11 copies

Auckland : the city in literature (2003) — Contributor — 10 copies

New Zealand Love Stories: An Oxford Anthology (2000) — Contributor — 7 copies

The Penguin New Writing No. 28 (1946) — Contributor — 5 copies

The Penguin New Writing No. 18 (1943) — Contributor — 5 copies

The Penguin Book Of New Zealand War Writing (2015) — Contributor — 4 copies

Historier fra de syv have — Author, some editions — 2 copies, 1 review

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1960s (2) 1965 (1) 2010 (1) 2012 (2) 20th Century New Zealand Lit (1) anthology (4) autobiography (3) biography (2) bookshelves (1) English literature (1) Esperanto (1) Essays - NZ (2) fiction (23) Frank Sargeson 1903-82 (2) letters (2) literature (2) memoir (1) modern fiction (1) New Zealand (22) New Zealand author (2) New Zealand biography (2) New Zealand fiction (3) New Zealand literature (17) non-fiction (3) novel (1) NZ English glossary (1) NZLit C20th - short story - Sargeson (2) penguin (2) PR9639.3.S3 SAR (2) published 1964 (1) read in 2014 (1) read in 2018 (1) reading (1) Rotorua (1) Sargeson - Collected Stories [1964] (1) Sargeson bibliography (2) short stories (15) short story (1) stories (1) to-read (4)

Common Knowledge

Legal name: Davey, Norris Frank
Birthdate: 1903-03-23
Date of death: 1982-03-01
Gender: male
Nationality: New Zealand
Birthplace: Hamilton, New Zealand
Place of death: Auckland, New Zealand
Places of residence: Hamilton, New Zealand (birth)
Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand
England, UK
Education: law
Occupations: short story writer
novelist
Awards and honors: Honorary LittD, University of Auckland

Members

Reviews

The Stories of Frank Sargeson by Frank Sargeson

Written between the 1930s and 60s, this collection of New Zealand short stories focusses on working class life. Mostly narrated in the first person, the reader feels Sargeson's conversing with him, telling him events from his own life, in a colloquial voice.
So the experiences seem to be those of the author himself and people he knows; rooming houses, pubs, jail, lowly employment, the Slump, form the backdrop, as well as recollections from childhood. The earlier stories are very short, only a page or two; the longest ("That Summer") almost a novella.
Some pack a punch (I was particularly struck by "A Great Day", where the good clean fun of two chaps going sailing takes an unexpected twist...) With others I couldn't quite see the point. Homosexuality is hinted at throughout, though our protagonists with their 'cobbers' are not averse to female company too.
I came across Frank Sargeson while reading the autobiography of Janet Frame (to whom he was mentor and friend.)
Of varying quality but worth reading.… (more)

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