xi 274 pages, indexed illustrated. The price clipped jacket is lightly chipped at the edges,with minor loss toi the head and tail of the spine strip. The body of the book is immaculate - clean, unmarked and solid. First published in 5 volumes by George Robertson 1877-8. This is the first abridged edition. " Australian life has never had a chronicler quite like the Vagabond. Renowned as journalist and 'eminently unconventional character', he suffered extremes of poverty and prosperity. These enabled him to record first-hand experiences revealing the degradation of life in the festering slums of the Victorian era. They also enabled him to write convincingly about the emergence of a well-off middle class in the fast-developing colonies." (Trove)