Lesson plan
Beam Ends
Beam Ends is a 1937 semi-autobiographical novel by Australian actor Errol Flynn. Upon publication, reviews positioned the book variously as fiction and non-fiction. It was understood as "a graphic account of an adventurous and almost fatal trip that [Flynn] made in a small schooner from Australia to New Guinea." Another reviewer purported that it "deals at length on [Flynn's] Sydney days, and his subsequent voyage up the east coast of Australia." Beam Ends was Flynn's first novel, although he had written nonfiction for many years. An anonymous book reviewer in Smith's Weekly wrote: "Beam Ends" is sufficient proof that [Flynn] would have made a very good journalist. He tells the "Sirocco" story in pithy, terse English, and his descriptions of Barrier Reef scenery and storms at sea are couched in well-turned "purple patches" that would earn a rise in salary for most newspaper descriptive writers. Nicely etched are his sketches of strange characters they met in Coffs Harbor, Brisbane, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.
Article summary
Beam Ends is a 1937 semi-autobiographical novel by Australian actor Errol Flynn. Upon publication, reviews positioned the book variously as fiction and non-fiction. It was understood as "a graphic account of an adventurous and almost fatal trip that [Flynn] made in a small schooner from Australia to New Guinea." Another reviewer purported that it "deals at length on [Flynn's] Sydney days, and his subsequent voyage up the east coast of Australia." Beam Ends was Flynn's first novel, although he had written nonfiction for many years. An anonymous book reviewer in Smith's Weekly wrote: "Beam Ends" is sufficient proof that [Flynn] would have made a very good journalist. He tells the "Sirocco" story in pithy, terse English, and his descriptions of Barrier Reef scenery and storms at sea are couched in well-turned "purple patches" that would earn a rise in salary for most newspaper descriptive writers. Nicely etched are his sketches of strange characters they met in Coffs Harbor, Brisbane, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.