AUSTRALIAN TRAGIC is about a nation that began its life as a stage for misfortune - and ever since has struggled to outgrow its birthright. These are gripping tales that take us into the heart of this country: tales of genuine catastrophe, of grand chances gone astray, of fools and their plans pathetically undone, of heartbreaking sadness and violent loss, and of both goodness and human evil.

From Aboriginals being curious in an American circus to the story of Martin Bryant at Port Arthur, and from Bob Bungey, who survived The Battle of Britain, but couldn't face life when his young wife suddenly died soon after he came home, to the doctor who died minutes before he was to deliver a paper revealing the secret of using monkey glands to improve human health and stamina, and sexual virility - all these stories are told in a gripping narrative style, driven by eyewitness testimony, a solid sense of place, and a mood of impending doom. And we thought we knew our history...