The book's 13 poems are vignettes of life in a fictional kingdom called Gosh, inhabited by an arboreal race (that is to say, climbers) known as Glugs.

Written in the style of children's nonsense poetry, the work attacks free trade, along with what Dennis saw as Australia's social conformity, intellectual cowardice and rampant bureaucracy.

Dennis wrote the poem "Joi, the Glug" for the youngest son of his friend and patron Garry Roberts, presenting it in June 1914.

[4] So trenchant is the author's critique that, McQueen observes, "only his public reputation as a patriotic versifier enabled Dennis's anti-war republicanism to pass unnoticed" by the wartime censors.

But they all grew idle, and fond of ease, And easy to swindle, and hard to please;[8] Joi is hanged, but later vindicated: Gosh experiences a balance of payments crisis and ultimately an inconclusive war with Podge.

"[4] Some reviewers of the time considered that the "shallow and pretentious" narrative "labours the obvious"; others found its "humorous and lyrical dexterity" to be "amusing and intelligent".

Though the poetry retains the romanticism of the bush ballads,[10] in moving from the celebration of Australian larrikinism to pointed social and political criticism, Dennis confounded his readers' expectations.

[11] McQueen writes:The picture of the typical Australian to emerge from The Glugs totally contradicts the one popularly taken from The Bloke and Ginger Mick, where we are independent, resourceful, haters of authority and good mates.