When young Spit MacPhee comes to live with his grandfather, the people of the Australian country town of St Helen fear for his future. Fyfe MacPhee is a crazy old man, and barefoot Spit has to fend for himself along the riverbank where they live. While some people feel that Spit can look after himself, others believe he would be better cared for in a boys home and when old Fyfe dies after one of his ‘turns’ a fierce battle to decide Spit’s destiny begins.

Featuring a new introduction from Phillip Gwynne in this Text Classics edition, The True Story of Spit MacPhee is a much-loved, quintessentially Australian novel for readers of all ages.