John Lang

John Lang (1816-1864) was the first Australian-born novelist, often lauded as the first known writer of detective fiction in the Anglophone world. He is best known for his collection of short stories in Botany Bay: True Tales of Early Australia (1859) and for his career as a barrister. His grandfather was transported to Australia in the First Fleet for stealing eight silver spoons. Lang spent most of his professional career in India. There, he launched an anti-government magazine called The Mofussilite, where he published his novels in serial form. These were often anonymous, and Lang is widely believed to be the author of Violet the Danseuse (1836), making him the first Australian to publish an international best-selling novel.