Patricia Wrightson’s Book of Wirrun: Religion, Folklore, Hero-Tale?

Abstract

Some time ago I received a letter from Gillian Adams of the University of Austin, Texas, listing what she believed were some essentials for an article on Patricia Wrightson's novel 'The Nargun and the Stars'. High on the list was the need for discussion of the religious aspects of the spirit creatures that Wrightson brought to their first successful expression in that novel. Professor Adams was showing an interest that I have found common among North American academics, an interest in the religious beliefs and practices of indigenous peoples implicit or explicit in works written for children and adolescents.