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Voss is an epic novel by Patrick White, first published in 1957. It is based upon the life of the nineteenth-century Prussian explorer and naturalist Ludwig Leichhardt who disappeared whilst on an expedition into the Australian outback.

Plot summary

Johann Ulrich Voss sets out to cross the Australian continent in 1845, after collecting a party of settlers and two aboriginals his party heads inland from the coast only to meets endless adversity. The explorers cross drought plagued desert then water-logged lands until they retreat to a cave where they lie for weeks waiting for the rain to stop.

The strength of the novel comes not from the physical description of the story but from the explorers passion, insight and doom. The novel draws heavily on the complex character of Voss.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

Voss has also been transformed into an opera written by Richard Meale, that has been performed at the Adelaide Festival of Arts.