13 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A colt runs wild in the mountains, and an unlikely rider joins a chase that tests nerve against rough country.
At Harrison’s cattle station, word spreads that a valuable colt has escaped and joined wild horses in the hills. Riders gather to bring him back, including the skilled stockman Clancy of the Overflow. But the horses have reached rough mountain country near Mount Kosciusko, where the hunt demands more than a willingness to follow.
Then a man from the Snowy River country arrives on a small horse, and the others doubt him. In The Man from Snowy River, A. B. Paterson turns this encounter into a ballad of speed, danger and nerve. Its strong beat and long, galloping lines carry you from the talk at the station toward the hard chase ahead.
What you’ll discover
- An unlikely mountain rider Meet a newcomer whose small horse gives the gathered riders reason to doubt him.
- The wild mountain chase Follow the hunt into rough country, where a runaway colt travels with wild horses.
- A story with rhythm Feel the strong beat pull you through a story that is easy to follow.
- Life around the station Enter a world of stockmen, horses and news that brings riders together.
- Verse that gallops Discover how Paterson’s long lines give speed and movement to a short bush ballad.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy galloping rhythms, campfire yarns, horses, open country and dry humour will love this collection. It also suits lovers of old songs read aloud.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Bush people tell their own stories
- Small size can hide great skill
- The racetrack tests nerve and pretence
- Pressure reveals what courage means
- Laughter becomes a kind of toughness
- Town and bush both stir longing
- Care for people includes their sorrow
- Rhythm carries the life of each tale
- Shared values hold the ballads together
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The Man from Snowy River
by A. B. Paterson · 1890
A slight rider on a small mountain pony chases wild horses down a slope where one slip means death.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to read20 languages
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In short
What does it take to chase wild mountain horses down a slope where one slip means death? News of an escaped colt opens the title poem in The Man from Snowy River, a collection of ballads by the Australian writer A. B. Paterson.
The Man from Snowy River at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 35 min1 h 15 min fast, 1 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 22,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1890by A. B. Paterson
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A bush poet gathers songs from the road
The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses is a book of ballads by A. B. Paterson, who wrote for the Bulletin in Sydney. Most of the poems first ran there, so readers across Australia already knew many of them.
In a short prelude, Paterson says he gathered these stories far from town, in wind and rain, on the overland routes of the west. He made them in earnest and in jest during the night watches. He asks for nothing grand. One moment of delight for his old comrades will do.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1890
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Paterson, A. B. The Man from Snowy River. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-man-from-snowy-river.
Paterson, A. B. (2026). The man from Snowy River. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-man-from-snowy-river (Original work published 1890)
Paterson, A. B. The Man from Snowy River. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-man-from-snowy-river.
@book{paterson2026man,
author = {Paterson, A. B.},
title = {The Man from Snowy River},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-man-from-snowy-river},
note = {First published 1890}
}
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What is The Man from Snowy River about?
The title poem follows a young rider on a small mountain pony who joins a group of stockmen chasing wild horses. Others doubt him, but his skill on a steep, dangerous descent shows what mountain horsemen can do.
Who is Clancy of the Overflow?
Clancy is a drover and horseman who appears in the title poem and gives his name to another poem. In that one, the speaker, stuck in a city office, imagines Clancy's life on the open plains and wishes he could swap places.
What else is in the collection besides the title poem?
There are racing ballads such as Old Pardon, comic yarns such as The Geebung Polo Club and A Bush Christening, outlaw tales, poems of homesickness such as On Kiley's Run, and short sad pieces such as Lost and The Swagman's Rest.
The author
A. B. Paterson
1864–1941 · Australian bush poet
Andrew Barton Paterson (1864–1941), known as Banjo Paterson, was an Australian poet, journalist and author. He was born near Orange, New South Wales, and later lived in Sydney. He wrote the poem The Man from Snowy River in 1890 and published a collection with that title in 1895. He died in Sydney.
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