Seven Emus
{{short description|1959 Australian novel by Xaview Herbert}}
{{for|the Seven Emu station and sanctuary in the Northern Territory|Pungalina-Seven Emu Sanctuary}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book |
| name = Seven Emus
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = File:Seven Emus.jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = Xavier Herbert
| cover_artist =
| country = Australia
| language = English
| series =
| genre = Fiction
| publisher = Angus and Robertson
| release_date = 1959
| media_type = Print
| pages = 147 pp
| isbn =
| preceded_by = Capricornia
| followed_by = Soldiers' Women
}}
Seven Emus (1959) is a novel by Australian author Xavier Herbert.[http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C169292 Austlit - Seven Emus by Xavier Herbert]
Plot outline
The novel's plot revolves around the attempt by two villains to steal a unique piece of Indigenous Australian sculpture.
Critical reception
A reviewer in The Canberra Times called it an "improbable" tale, and was disappointed overall: "It is a pity that Xavier Herbert has chosen such an unlikely story to tell and that he has not fully disciplined his style and content to the exacting requirements of a short novel, for there is much in Seven Emus that is of high quality. Once the story gets under way, the plot unfolds swiftly, there is much understanding and humorous commenting on the more probable characters, and there is an overall understanding of the aborigines and of the North-West that is not often seen in Australian literature."[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103093198 "Improbable New Herbert Story" The Canberra Times, 28 February 1959, p11]