Robbery Under Arms

An Apple Books Classic edition.

Before there were Westerns, there wasRobbery Under Arms, a novel that captures the legends of bushrangers-Australia’s outback outlaws. From the very first page, Rolf Boldrewood plunges readers into the action as the book’s narrator, Dick Marston, sits in a jail cell awaiting his execution and remembering the details of his misadventures.

After a young Dick turns down a job offer from his neighbour George, one bad decision leads to a life of increasingly serious crimes-from petty theft to armed robbery to forming a gang with notorious bushranger Captain Starlight. Along the way, Dick stays in touch with his former friend, who may be able to provide a way out of the outlaw life.

Written in the 1880s, Robbery Under Arms has influenced countless Western adventure books and movies that came after it. Boldrewood’s novel is full of double-crossings, gun fights and transgression.