Contains the fourth chapter of The Dream and the Reality, an unpublished literary work by John McLaren on the study of the realist tradition in Australian fiction. The purpose of McLaren’s study is to explore the attitude of Australians to their country which has always been ambiguous, and show how some Australian fiction writers reacted to this particular experience and environment, how they have treated the dream and how they have dealt with reality. The world of each of the writers discussed in this chapter – Prichard, Richardson and Herbert, is recognisably that of Clarke, Lawson and Furphy. Like the earlier writers, they are concerned with life as it is now rather than with metaphysical implications.