Human Toll

"Human Toll" (1907) is a novel written and published by Australian writer Barbara Baynton. The author is known for having set many of her works in natural environments, especially forests and woods; in fact "Human Toll" tells the story of Ursula Ewart, a child orphaned who is sent away from her native environment, the Australian savannah. Ursula is forced to move to a nearby town where she is barely tolerated. His only friend becomes a child named Andrew. There are ,certainly, elements of social criticism in this work: there is a detailed description of the living conditions of women in Australia at the beginning of the 20th century.