Benevolence
'The gut-truths presented in Benevolence are tied to a larger reckoning needed in Australian society – one that involves a centring of First Nation voices, a willingness to address not just a violent history, but a hostile and violent present' – Mascara Literary Review
At the time of its original release in 2020, Benevolence was celebrated as a refreshing response to colonial narratives of the frontier. A welcome new take on Australian historical fiction, Darug writer Julie Janson’s storytelling through the lives of her women ancestors continues to provoke conversations about the ways we, as a nation, reckon with the colonial past. For perhaps the first time in novel form, Benevolence presented the early colonial period in New South Wales from an Aboriginal perspective.
Darug woman Muraging (Mary James), born around 1813, is part of one of the earliest Darug generations to experience the impact of British colonisation. At an early age Muraging is given over to the Parramatta Native School by her Darug father. From here she embarks on a journey of discovery and a search for a safe place to make her home. The novel spans the years 1816-35 and is set around the Hawkesbury River area, the home of the Darug people, Parramatta and Sydney. The author interweaves historical events and characters – she shatters stereotypes and puts a human face to this Aboriginal perspective.
This reformatted edition, following the 2024 release of its sequel Compassion, brings new life and a new look to Benevolence.
Julie Janson is a Burruberongal woman of the Darug Aboriginal nation. She is a novelist, playwright, and poet. Her novels are: Madukka the River Serpent from UWA Publishing, an Indigenous crime novel published in 2022 and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Prize; Benevolence from Magabala Books, published in 2020 and acquired by Harper Collins in USA and UK August in 2022. Benevolence was shortlisted for the Barbara Jefferis Award in 2022; nominated for NIB Literary Award 2020, and the Voss Literary Award 2020. Julie is also the author of the Virtual Reality screenplay 'There Exists'. Julie is co-recipient of the Oodgeroo Noonuccal Poetry Prize 2016 and the Judith Wright Poetry Prize 2019. She lives on the south coast of NSW with her husband Michael Fay.
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