Perhaps best known for the first book in his autobiographical trilogy, I Can Jump Puddles (1955), Alan Marshall was also the prolific author of many short stories, children's books, novels, and newspaper advice columns. His work is vivid in its portrayal of Australian rural life and is typically concerned with the representation of courageous characters who value social solidarity and demonstrate a love of nature. As a child Marshall contracted poliomyelitis, which left his legs permanently scarred and wasted and resulted in the curvature of his spine. Despite this apparent handicap, Marshall's unrelenting determination meant that his physical inabilities rarely inhibited his active lifestyle or his desire to revisit constantly the rural and remote areas of Australia that inspired much of his work. This same determination is evident in many of the characters who populate Marshall's books, and Marshall is remembered as much for them as for the writing...