This year is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen's first (published) novel, Sense and sensibility. To celebrate this, my local Jane Austen group plans to discuss the novel over the next three months, volume by volume. We tried this last year with Mansfield Park and valued the opportunity it presented to delve … Continue reading Jane Austen, Sense and sensibility (Vol. 1)
Review
Matt McClelland, Best river and alpine walks around Mt Kosciuszko
For many years now, Mr Gums and I have been going to Thredbo in Kosciuszko National Park for a few days in early January. In other words, instead of heading east to the coast, like many of our city's residents, we head south to the mountains for a bit of R&R involving bushwalking, dining and reading. … Continue reading Matt McClelland, Best river and alpine walks around Mt Kosciuszko
Barbara Hanrahan, The scent of eucalyptus
Writer-artist Barbara Hanrahan was born half a generation before I was and in the city of Adelaide not a country town in Queensland, but the childhood she depicts in her first novel, The scent of eucalyptus, could almost have been mine. Almost, but not quite, as I was brought up in a standard nuclear family … Continue reading Barbara Hanrahan, The scent of eucalyptus
Monday musings on Australian literature: The King’s Speech (Movie)
I wasn't going to review The King's Speech, the current biopic about how Lionel Logue helped cure George VI's stuttering, because I mostly review Australian films. But, I do like a biopic and this film does have some Australian connections. These connections may not be particularly literary but, what the heck, at least one of the … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The King’s Speech (Movie)
Kate Holden, The Romantic: Italian nights and days
Book cover (Courtesy: Text Publishing) The romantic, by Kate Holden, is hard to categorise. In an interview with Richard Aedy on ABC Radio's Life Matters she comments that, despite the success of her memoir In my skin, she was "a little bit uncomfortable with memoir" because it felt a bit "narcissistic". And so this, her second … Continue reading Kate Holden, The Romantic: Italian nights and days
Katharine Susannah Prichard, The pioneers
Katharine Susannah Prichard (1883-1969) is probably not as well-known in Australia, let alone internationally, as she should be. She was born in Fiji, but grew up in Tasmania and Melbourne, travelled overseas and in other parts of Australia, before settling in Western Australia in 1919. She was a founding member of the Australian Communist … Continue reading Katharine Susannah Prichard, The pioneers
Garry Disher, Wyatt (Guest post)
Some time ago I found in my mailbox a bundle of books from my lovely contacts at Text Publishing. Unfortunately, there were more books in the bundle than I could read at the time, and a couple were in genres I don't generally read (though that's not to say I wouldn't read them if I … Continue reading Garry Disher, Wyatt (Guest post)
Literary encounters, Australian style
I've been remiss. I could have solved some of your Christmas shopping challenges by telling you about two books which would be perfect gifts for readers: Shane Maloney and Chris Grosz's Australian encounters, and Susannah Fullerton's Brief encounters. Both have "encounters" in the title, but they use the word in slightly different ways, as you'll see … Continue reading Literary encounters, Australian style
Alan Bennett, The uncommon reader
Light with bite is how I would describe Alan Bennett's delightful novella The uncommon reader. But, before I explain that further, a quick plot summary for those few who haven't come across it. It explores what happens when Queen Elizabeth II stumbles across a mobile library on the palace grounds and becomes obsessed with books and … Continue reading Alan Bennett, The uncommon reader
Tracy Chevalier, Remarkable creatures
Most readers experience, I think, periods of reading synchronicity when we read books in close succession that are related in some way. I am experiencing such a period now as Tracy Chevalier's Remarkable creatures is the third book I've read recently to deal in some way with the first decades of the 19th century. The … Continue reading Tracy Chevalier, Remarkable creatures
