Even the Birds of the Air

By Musette Morell

In an Australian garden, courtship becomes public theatre and every flutter of desire invites gossip, rivalry and judgement. Winnie Wagtail, an unabashed coquette, connects an ensemble of anthropomorphic birds whose romantic and social intrigues expose the rules by which affection is approved, condemned or made respectable. Her competing courtships sharpen the comedy while leaving a provocative question in the air: who has the right to decide how love should be lived? Rhymed dialogue gives this verse drama its distinctive pulse, while songs, choruses, music cues, sound effects and stage directions turn debate into performance. Across lawn, trees, branches and open air, private longing collides with public reputation. Marriage and sexual freedom are weighed against social convention; class and nationalism enter the argument; cultural exclusion reveals the boundaries hidden inside claims of respectability. The birds may inhabit a garden, but their quarrels speak pointedly to human habits of judgement and belonging. Beneath the comic social intrigue lies a sustained contrast between genuine feeling and display. Material wealth competes with poetry and idealism, just as personal and artistic independence confront ideological control. The Satin Bower Bird's bower and the dustbowl provide sharply different spaces for a satirical allegory that asks whether love can remain free when society insists on assigning value, status and acceptable forms. This book was out of print for decades and is now republished by Alpha Editions. It has been restored for today's and future generations. This edition is not just a reprint - it's a collector's item and a cultural treasure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9378416845
• ISBN13: 9789378416842
• Release Date: December 2026
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 72 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"