Drylands 1999 is a miles franklin awardwinning novel by australian author thea astley. Astley s run of works has dealt with the smalltown idiom before. Text classics, book by thea astley text publishing. Drylands by thea astley overdrive rakuten overdrive. At the time of her death, she had won more miles franklin awards, australias major literary award, than any other writer. Drylands is a wakeup call for millennial australia. Drylands by astley, thea and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. A lifelong chainsmoker famed for her sharp wit, thea astley died in 2004. Her first novel, girl with a monkey, was published in 1958 and her third, the well dressed explorer 1962, won the miles franklin literary award. Thea beatrice may astley 25 august 1925 17 august 2004 was an australian novelist and. At night, in her flat above the newsagency, she attempts to write a novel for a world in which no one reads full of people, she envisaged, glaring at a screen that glared glassily back.
Thea astleys glorious paradox laid bare in karen lambs biography patrick white, who thea astley stalked early on in her career. Astley s brilliance rests not only in her distinctive prose style but her willingness and courage to make social statements, to assemble portraits of pain as a bridge to compassion. In the dying town of drylands, janet deakin sells papers to lonely locals. Janet deakin resides in drylands, struggling to retain a bookstore, which is nothing more than a newsagency. Astley won the 1989 patrick white award and became an officer in the order of australia in 1992. In her flat above drylandss newsagency, janet deakin is writing a book fo. In her flat above drylands newsagency, janet deakin is writing a book for the worlds last reader. I read thea astley s drylands many, many years ago now, so what im going to share here inspired by my post earlier this year on confronting australian novels are the notes i made when i read it. She won first in 1962 for the well dressed explorer, and her fourth win was for drylands in 2000.
Trenchant and brilliant, thea astley s final novel is a dark portrait of outback australia in decline. Drylands is the story of the townsfolks harsh, violent lives. Thea astley was the only australian woman novelist of her generation to have won early success and published consistently throughout the 1960s and 70s, when the. Thea astleys glorious paradox laid bare in karen lambs. Trenchant and brilliant, thea astleys final novel is a dark portrait of outback australia in. This novel shared the award with benang by kim scott. Thea astley is a prolific australia writer who has won the miles franklin literary award four times. She was a prolific writer who was published for over 40 years from 1958.
The fiction of thea astley by susan sheridan cambria press. Drylands by thea astley, 9781743173985, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Pdf thea astleys poetry, a prequel to her fiction researchgate. All contents are provided by nonaffiliated third parties. Drylands is a small, dying, droughtstricken town in outback queensland, that lives up to its name, in relation to both its climate and its culture. Her last novel was drylands 1999, her fourth miles franklin winner. Donna mclachlan brings us a recording of theas last public engagement, a. This week, books and writing pays homage to one of our most beloved authors, thea astley, who sadly passed away this week. The death of australian literature in thea astleys drylands. Thea beatrice may astley 25 august 1925 17 august 2004 was an australian novelist and short story writer.
Astley, it has to be said, is not always an easy writer to read. This is the first biography of one of australias most beloved novelists, thea astley 19252004. Many notable books followed, among them the groundbreaking a kindness cup 1974, which addressed frontier massacres of indigenous australians, and its. Thea astley 19252004 was one of the outstanding australian fiction writers of the 20th century. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. As well as being a writer, she taught at all levels of education primary, secondary and. This book, which capped her illustrious career, is her greatest literary achievement. Thea astleys brilliant satire on old age shimmers with grief and irony. Drylands 1999 subtitled a book for the worlds last reader is a miles franklin awardwinning novel by australian author thea astley. This novel, which turned out to be her last she died in 2004, aged 78, earned her the miles franklin literary award in 2000, a prize she shared with joint winner kim scott for his novel benang. Trenchant and brilliant, thea astleys final novel is a dark portrait of outback australia. From the late 1960s until 1980, when she began to write fulltime, astley worked at macquarie university. Trenchant and brilliant, thea astleys final novel is a dark portrait of outback australia in decline. Buy drylands text classics by astley, thea, maguire, emily isbn.
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