After a run of tough reads in 2021, my reading group wanted something gentler, so I suggested that for our "classic" we do a novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, whose works I've loved for their pointed wit, delightful humour, and astute commentary on marriage and the relationship between men and women. As is my wont, … Continue reading Elizabeth von Arnim, Vera (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Sources for early Australian Women Writers
As I think you know, Elizabeth Lhuede (founder of the Australian Women Writers Challenge), Bill Holloway (The Australian Legend), and I, are behind the re-framed Challenge. Our focus is early Australian Women Writers, by which we mean women writers from the nineteenth and early-to-mid twentieth centuries. We are particularly interested in those women writers who … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Sources for early Australian Women Writers
Six degrees of separation, FROM Our wives under the sea TO …
It's April down under. Actually, it's April everywhere - I know that - but, down under, April is autumn, not spring. All those Easter cards with baskets of pretty flowers, not to mention eggs with their hints of fertility and birth, have always seemed out of place. Gradually, though, we are making this time our … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM Our wives under the sea TO …
Stella Prize 2022 Shortlist announced
The 2022 Stella Prize shortlist was announced, yesterday. But, as I had just posted my review of Gabrielle Carey's Only happiness here, I decided to hold my announcement post over for a day. Those of you keenly interested will have seen it, but at least I will have it for my records. Just to remind … Continue reading Stella Prize 2022 Shortlist announced
Gabrielle Carey, Only happiness here: In search of Elizabeth von Arnim (#BookReview)
I discovered Elizabeth von Arnim (nee Mary Annette Beauchamp, 1866-1941) back in the 1990s when Virago republished her first novel, Elizabeth and her German garden. Published in 1898, this novel, writes Gabrielle Carey, was an immediate hit, turning her, almost overnight, into one of England's favourite authors. It was certainly a revelation to me. I … Continue reading Gabrielle Carey, Only happiness here: In search of Elizabeth von Arnim (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1922: 1, Bookstall Co.
I haven't done many Trove-inspired posts lately, but, I do enjoy pottering around Trove's Newspapers and Gazettes database, so thought that for today's Monday Musings I'd have a little look at what was happening in the Australian book world in 1922. My broad search retrieved around 8,000 articles! I can't read them all, but I … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1922: 1, Bookstall Co.
Nella Larsen, Passing (#BookReview)
For last year's Novellas in November, Arti (of Ripple Effects) posted on a book and author I'd never heard of, Nella Larsen's Passing. She also discussed its 2021 film adaptation. Quite coincidentally, that same month, my Californian friend Carolyn wrote positively about the film in a letter to me. It sounded right up my alley, … Continue reading Nella Larsen, Passing (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: World Poetry Day, on anthologies
Last week, Brona (This Reading Life) wrote a post on Eve Langley's poem, "Native-born", in which she shared the statement from Wikipedia that it appears regularly in Australian anthologies. As I responded to Brona, I checked my three "modern" Australian poetry anthologies and only found it in the most obvious one, The Penguin book of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: World Poetry Day, on anthologies
Delicious descriptions: John Hughes on Newcastle
Recently, Bill (the Australian Legend) commented on a post of mine that reviewers rarely talk about place or "think geographically". I'm not sure exactly what he means, but I think, partly, he wants us to discuss whether we think what we are reading accurately depicts place. Now, I love descriptions of place, for all sorts … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: John Hughes on Newcastle
John Hughes, The dogs (#BookReview)
Dogs are mentioned frequently in John Hughes' novel, The dogs, but the most dramatic reference occurs when the narrator's mother, Anna, is hiding in a swamp with other partisans during World War 2. The barking of the Germans' dogs tells them "it was only a matter of time" before they'd be found, causing Anna to … Continue reading John Hughes, The dogs (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 