A Fortunate Life

A Fortunate Life is an autobiography by Albert Facey published in 1981, nine months before his death. It chronicles his early life in Western Australia, his experiences as a private during the Gallipoli campaign of World War I and his return to civilian life after the war. It also documents his extraordinary life of hardship, loss, friendship and love.

During the initial days of its publication, Albert Facey became a nationwide celebrity. Notwithstanding the interest in it, Facey considered his life to be simple and "had no idea what all the fuss was about".^{[citation needed]} When asked in an interview, where the name of the book originated, he replied, "I called it 'A Fortunate Life' because I truly believe that is what I had".^{[citation needed]}

It has become a classic piece of Australian literature and is one of Australia's most beloved books. As of 2020^[update] it has, since its publication in 1981,^[1] sold over one million copies, becoming a primary account of the Australian experience during World War I. It is also featured in many Australian primary and secondary schools as a recommended book for young adults.

Overview

Plot summary

The autobiography begins at his birth. Albert Barnett Facey was born in

Most of his childhood was spent in the

Bert had not lost touch with his uncle's farm, his grandmother and siblings. At the age of 14, when Roy and Eric resolved to go to live with their mother, who was by then in Perth, he took the decision to leave the very companionable family set-up he had found himself working for and go to live with her. He had had no contact with her for 12 years and it soon became clear that although his mother was pleased to see them all, she was more interested in the money they could provide. Bert left and took up work as a cattle drover. Over a period of six months he worked in a team moving cattle from the Ashburton river over 970 kilometres (600 mi) to market in Geraldton. During a furious storm he became separated from the other drovers and lost his way. He almost died of hunger and exposure before being found a week later by Aboriginal peoples, who took care of him and lead him back to the drovers. Later he worked with the water board, clearing bores, digging channels and building water reservoirs and dams on wheat belt properties, even surviving the perilous collapse of a deep water bore his team was clearing. At the age of eighteen he began as a railway line navvy. Bert had developed an interest in boxing while in Perth, which was put to use dealing with the vindictive line construction overseer.

Throughout his childhood and teenage years, there had been no possibility of formal education, but Bert taught himself to read and write. Looking for work in the pre-war years, he realised that he was not comfortable with paperwork, offices and cities, far preferring life in the bush. He had become an accomplished horseman, bushman, and at 18 was a professional boxer.

In August 1915, during the

Albert Facey and A Fortunate Life have been the recipients of a host of award nominations since the initial publication of the book but have only won two major book awards. It won the 1981 Banjo Award for Australian Literature and then the 1981 New South Wales Literacy Award.

In 2004 the book was named as Australia's 10th most popular on the ABC's My Favourite Book list.^[3]

Publishing details

• Wikidata Q4656846
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The mini-series was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in March 2008 and is compatible with all region codes.^[5] As of May 2020^[update] it was available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Australia.^{[citation needed]}

References