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A Descant For Gossips (novel)
''A Descant for Gossips'' (1960) is a novel by Australian author Thea Astley. Plot summary In a dusty Queensland country town young Vinny Lalor is bullied by her fellow students at the local high school. Her teacher, Helen Striebel, is the only one to show Vinny any support and when the teacher is involved in a scandal with a fellow male teacher, Vinny is again hurt. At the same time, teacher Mrs Striebel and English teacher Moller are beginning a tentative and careful love affair. In a country town, where rumour becomes truth, gossip is the primary conversation and small-minded meanness predominates, the two teachers, while understanding the place, do not fully anticipate the risks they are taking. Vinny, as an immature thirteen year old, has a crush on her teacher Mrs Striebel. The relationship seems to be the only thing of value in Vinny's life. As a shy and unfriended child, Vinny is shunned and misunderstood by the students and adults living in the town. Her life, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thea Astley
Thea Beatrice May Astley (25 August 1925 – 17 August 2004) was an Australian novelist and short story writer. She was a prolific writer who was published for over 40 years from 1958. At the time of her death, she had won more Miles Franklin Awards, Australia's major literary award, than any other writer. As well as being a writer, she taught at all levels of education – primary, secondary and tertiary. Astley has a significant place in Australian letters as she was "the only woman novelist of her generation to have won early success and published consistently throughout the 1960s and 1970s, when the literary world was heavily male-dominated"."Introduction" in Sheridan, Susan and Genomi, Paul (eds) (2008) ''Thea Astley's Fictional Worlds'', Newcastle upon Tyne, Cambridge Scholars Publishing Life Born in Brisbane and educated at All Hallows' School, Astley studied arts at the University of Queensland then trained to become a teacher. After marrying Jack Gregson in 1948, she ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8th and 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angus And Robertson
Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: Angus & Robertson, 1888–1945". In: ''The History of the Book in Australia 1891–1945''. (Edited by Martyn Lyons & John Arnold), pp. 27–36. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press. This well known Australian brand currently exists as an online shop owned by online bookseller Booktopia. The Angus & Robertson imprint is still seen in books published by HarperCollins, a News Corporation company. Bookselling history The first bookstore was opened in 110½ Market Street, Sydney by Scotsman David Mackenzie Angus (1855-1901) in 1884; it initially sold only secondhand books. In 1886, he went into partnership with fellow Scot George Robertson. This George Robertson should not be confused with his older contemporary, George Robertson th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Girl With A Monkey
''Girl with a Monkey'' (1958) is a novel by Australian author Thea Astley. Plot summary The novel centres around one day in the life of a young schoolteacher in a small Queensland town. She has recently had a relationship with a local road worker, and this day is her last in the town as she prepares to transfer south to escape what appears to be a threatening situation. Critical reception In a survey of the author's works ''The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature'' noted that: "For the self-conscious, hyperperceptive individuals on whom she concentrates, life is necessarily isolated, an unequal, doomed, tragi-comic struggle for identity and integrity. From Elsie Ford in ''Girl with a Monkey'' to Paul Vesper of ''The Acolyte'', to Belle of ''Reaching Tin River'', she develops related but increasingly complex studies of desperate attempts to preserve the self in the face of disintegration."''The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature'', 2nd edition, p45 See also * 1958 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Well Dressed Explorer
''The Well Dressed Explorer'' (1962) is a Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...-winning novel by Australian author Thea Astley. This novel shared the award with '' The Cupboard Under the Stairs'' by George Turner. Plot summary The novel follows journalist, George Brewster, who moves from city to city, from empty love affair to empty love affair, until he dies. He is married, but faithless to his wife...and is ultimately a "pathetic figure".Taylor and Perkins (2007), p. 246 Themes The themes of this novel are common to Astley's novels: "the hurts inflicted inadvertently and deliberately on others, the terrible shallowness underlying the inability to identify imaginatively with others, and the destruction of others and of the self by wrongly co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Descant For Gossips (miniseries)
''A Descant for Gossips'' is a 1983 Australian mini series about a school girl who becomes involved with two teachers.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p187 The adaptation is based on the novel of the same name by Australian author Thea Astley. Cast * Kaarin Fairfax - Vinny Lalor * Geneviève Picot - Helen Striebel * Peter Carroll - Robert Moller * Louise Kan - Pearl * Desiree Smith - Betty * Steve Bastoni - Howard * Keir Saltmarsh - Tommy * Simon Chilvers - Mr. Findlay * Anne Phelan - Mrs. Lalor * Rona McLeod - Lillian * Jennifer Jarman-Walker - Jess Talbot * Rod Densley - Alex Talbot * Kate Jason - Ruth Lunbeck * Jeffrey Hodgson - Harold Lunbeck * Jillian Murray - Marion Welch * Bill Garner - Sam * Rod Williams - Mr. Lalor * Bruce Knappett - Mr. Jordan * Les James - Mr. Farrelly * Anne Charleston - Margaret * Con Mathios - Royce * Greg Stroud - Mike References External links *''A Descant for Gossips''at AustLit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Burstall
Timothy Burstall AM (20 April 1927 – 19 April 2004) was an English Australian film director, writer and producer, best known for hit Australian movie ''Alvin Purple'' (1973) and its sequel ''Alvin Rides Again''. Burstall's films featured early appearances by many legendary Australian actors including Jack Thompson, Bruce Spence, Jacki Weaver, ''Alvin'' star Graeme Blundell, John Waters and Judy Davis. Speaking just after Burstall's death, David Williamson said that Burstall "couldn't stomach" Australia's lack of a film industry. "He was determined to do something about it and he had the energy and spirit to do it. (He) was a very important cultural figure: highly intelligent, widely read, with a succinct and often highly controversial opinion on everything." Life Burstall was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England in April 1927. His family came to Australia in 1937 after his father took up a chair as professor of engineering at the University of Melbourne. Atten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaarin Fairfax
Kaarin Louise Fairfax (born 30 September 1959) is an Australian actress, director and singer who played the role of 'Dolour Darcy' in two TV miniseries ''The Harp in the South'' (1986) and its sequel ''Poor Man's Orange'' (1987) based on books of the same names by Ruth Park. She has also acted in other Australian television series throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, and recorded music under the name of Mary-Jo Starr. Note: n-lineversion established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. Fairfax had the role of 'Deb Mathieson' on Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV series, ''Bed of Roses'' (2008, 2010). Fairfax played the mother in the Rachel Perkins 2001 short film ''One Night the Moon'', a story of racial prejudice in the outback. Fairfax is the former wife of Australian musician Paul Kelly—they met in 1988— their two children are Madeleine (born 1991) and Memphis (born 1993). Memphis appeared with her parents in ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Carroll (actor)
Peter John Carroll (born 1944) is an Australian actor and the father of actress Tamsin Carroll. Early life and education Peter Carroll was born in Sydney, New South Wales in 1944. In his youth, Carroll was a boy soprano and won five awards in the City of Sydney Eisteddfodd in 1963. Carroll attended the University of Sydney, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts, and the University of New South Wales, where he earned a Master of Arts with Honours.Richard McGregor. (19 March 1982."Carrol fascinated by challenge of ''Suicide''" ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. While undertaking his education at the University of Sydney, he commenced amateur acting; after graduating, he worked as a drama teacher for two years. Carroll later attended the Central School of London. In 2003, Carroll received an honorary Doctorate of Creative Awards from the University of Wollongong. Honours * Member of the Order of Australia for "significant service to the performing arts as an actor" in the 2021 Quee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1960 In Australian Literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1960. Events * The first Adelaide Writers' Week was held as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts. Major publications Books * Thea Astley – '' A Descant for Gossips'' * Russell Braddon – ''The Proud American Boy'' * Nancy Cato – ''Green Grows the Vine'' * Jon Cleary – '' North from Thursday'' * Charmian Clift – ''Walk to the Paradise Gardens'' * Nino Culotta – '' Cop this Lot'' * Catherine Gaskin – ''Corporation Wife'' * Elizabeth Harrower – ''The Catherine Wheel'' * George Johnston – ''Closer to the Sun'' * Elizabeth O'Conner – '' The Irishman'' * Nevil Shute – ''Trustee from the Toolroom'' * Arthur Upfield – ''Valley of Smugglers'' * Joan Lindsay – ''Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (novel) Short stories * James Aldridge – ''Gold and Sand : Stories'' * Ion Idriess – ''The Wild North'' * John Morrison – "Dog-Box" * Hal Porter – "Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1959 Australian Novels
Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of Earth's Moon, and was also the first spacecraft to be placed in heliocentric orbit. * January 3 ** The three southernmost atolls of the Maldive Islands, Maldive archipelago (Addu Atoll, Huvadhu Atoll and Fuvahmulah island) United Suvadive Republic, declare independence. ** Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state. * January 4 ** In Cuba, rebel troops led by Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos enter the city of Havana. ** Léopoldville riots: At least 49 people are killed during clashes between the police and participants of a meeting of the ABAKO Party in Kinshasa, Léopoldville in the Belgian Congo. * January 6 ** Fidel Castro arrives in Havana. ** The International Maritime Organization is inaugurated. * January 7 – The United States reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novels By Thea Astley
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the historica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
