Ellen Dymphna Cusack AM (21 September 1902 – 19 October 1981) was an Australian writer and playwright.

Personal life

Born in

Wyalong Wyalong is part of the Bland Shire located in the Northern Riverina Region of New South Wales, Australia. Established as a gold mining town, it is now a quiet town with historic buildings a few kilometres east of West Wyalong, the major distric ...

, New South Wales, Cusack was educated at Saint Ursula's College,

Armidale, New South Wales Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

and graduated from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

with an honours degree in arts and a diploma in Education. She worked as a teacher until she retired in 1944 for health reasons. Her illness was confirmed in 1978 as

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

. She died at Manly, New South Wales on 19 October 1981.

Career

Dymphna Cusack Sydney Writers Walk plaque

Cusack wrote twelve novels (two of which were collaborations), eleven plays, three travel books, two children's books and one non-fiction book. Her

collaborative novels Collaborative fiction is a form of writing by a group of authors who share creative control of a story. Collaborative fiction can occur for commercial gain, as part of education, or recreationally – many collaboratively written works have been ...

were ''Pioneers on Parade'' (1939) with

Miles Franklin Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin (14 October 187919 September 1954), known as Miles Franklin, was an Australian writer and feminist who is best known for her novel ''My Brilliant Career'', published by Blackwoods of Edinburgh in 1901. While ...

, and '' Come In Spinner'' (1951) with

Florence James Florence Gertrude James (2 September 1902 – 25 August 1993) was an Australian writer and literary agent, born in New Zealand. Life James was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, daughter of a refrigeration engineer with a successful consulting pr ...

. The play ''

Red Sky at Morning The common phrase "red sky at morning" is a line from an ancient rhyme often repeated by sailor, mariners: ''Kentucky Weather'', by Jerry D. Hill, 2005, p.139, web: Books-Google-ikC Red sky at night, sailors' delight. Red sky at morning, sail ...

'' was filmed in 1944, starring

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...

. The biography ''

Caddie, the Story of a Barmaid ''Caddie, A Sydney Barmaid'' is the fictionally embellished autobiography of Catherine "Caddie" Edmonds, who worked as a barmaid in Sydney during the Great Depression. Published anonymously in 1953 under Edmonds' nickname, which was coined by a l ...

'', to which Cusack wrote an introduction and helped the author write, was produced as the film ''

Caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support. Description A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the ...

'' in 1976. The novel ''Come In Spinner'' was produced as a television series by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

in 1989, and broadcast in March 1990.

Family

Her younger brother, John, was also an author, writing the war novel ''They Hosed Them Out'' under the pseudonym John Beede, which was first published in 1965; an expanded edition under the author's real name, John Bede Cusack, was published in 2012 by Wakefield Press, edited and annotated by Robert Brokenmouth.

Activism

Cusack advocated social reform and described the need for reform in her writings. She contributed to the world peace movement during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

era as an antinuclear activist. She and her husband Norman Freehill were members of the Communist Party and they left their entire estates to the Party in their wills.

Contribution and recognition

Cusack was a foundation member of the

Australian Society of Authors The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) was formed in 1963 as the organisation to promote and protect the rights of Australia's authors and illustrators. The Fellowship of Australian Writers played a key role it its establishment. The organisat ...

in 1963. She had refused an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, but was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1981 for her contribution to

Australian literature Australian literature is the written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early Western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies; as such, ...

. In 2011, Cusack was one of 11 authors, including

Elizabeth Jolley Monica Elizabeth Jolley AO (4 June 1923 – 13 February 2007) was an English-born Australian writer who settled in Western Australia in the late 1950s and forged an illustrious literary career there. She was 53 when her first book was publishe ...

and

Manning Clark Charles Manning Hope Clark, (3 March 1915 – 23 May 1991) was an Australian historian and the author of the best-known general history of Australia, his six-volume ''A History of Australia'', published between 1962 and 1987. He has been descri ...

, to be permanently recognised by the addition of brass plaques at the Writers' Walk, Sydney."Tribute to Literary Greats on Sydney Writers’ Walk"
24 October 2011; retrieved 10 April 2012.

Plays

* ''Safety First'', 1927 * ''Shallow Cups'', 1933 * ''Anniversary'', 1935 * ''Red Sky at Morning'', performed 1935; published 1942 * ''Morning Sacrifice'', 1943 * ''Comets Soon Pass'', 1943 * ''Call Up Your Ghosts'', with

, 1945 * ''Pacific Paradise'', 1955

Novels

* ''

Jungfrau The Jungfrau ( "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the J ...

'' (1936) * ''

Pioneers on Parade ''Pioneers on Parade'' (1939) is a novel by Australian writers Miles Franklin and Dymphna Cusack. Story outline The novel is set in Sydney during the sesqui-centenary celebrations and follows the story of the socially ambitious Mrs. du Mont-Bra ...

'' (1939) with

* '' Come in Spinner'' (1951) with

* ''

Say No to Death ''Say No to Death'' (1951) is a novel by Australian writer Dymphna Cusack.It was originally published in Australia by Heinemann, and later in the US by William Morrow under the title ''The Sun in My Hands''. Story outline Set in Sydney followi ...

'' (1951) * ''

Southern Steel Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball South in the ANZ Premiership. Netball South is the governing body that re ...

'' (1953) * ''

'' (1953) ntroduction only* ''

The Sun in Exile ''The Sun in Exile'' (1955) is a novel by Australian writer Dymphna Cusack Ellen Dymphna Cusack AM (21 September 1902 – 19 October 1981) was an Australian writer and playwright. Personal life Born in Wyalong, New South Wales, Cusack was ...

'' (1955) * ''

Heatwave in Berlin ''Heatwave in Berlin'' part 1 Plot summary Australian Joy von Muhler is returning with her husband Stephen to Berlin, in the early 1960s, to visit his family. The pair have been married for 10 years after Stephen migrated to Australia follo ...

'' (1961) * '' Picnic Races'' (1962) * ''

Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella and artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' #1 (April 1977), during ...

'' (1964) * ''

The Sun is Not Enough ''The Sun is Not Enough'' (1967) is a novel by Australian writer Dymphna Cusack Ellen Dymphna Cusack AM (21 September 1902 – 19 October 1981) was an Australian writer and playwright. Personal life Born in Wyalong, New South Wales, Cusack ...

'' (1967) * ''

The Half-Burnt Tree ''The Half-Burnt Tree'' (1969) is a novel by Australian writer Dymphna Cusack. Plot summary The novel follows the story of three people living in the fictional NSW north-coast town of Doolinba: a man returned from Vietnam, scarred and damaged; ...

'' (1969) * ''A Bough in Hell'' (1971)

Nonfiction

* ''Chinese Women Speak''. Angus & Robertson. Sydney. 1958. * ''Holidays Among the Russians''. Heinemann. London. 1964. *
Illyria Reborn
'. Heinemann. London. 1966. * ''Mary Gilmore A Tribute''. Australasian Book Society. London. 1965. * ''A Window in the Dark''. National Library of Australia. Canberra. 1991.

Children's literature

* ''Kanga-Bee and Kanga-Bo''. Botany House. Sydney. 1945. * ''Four Winds and a Family'' with Florence James. Shakespeare Head Press. London. 1947.

References

Sources

* North, Marilla. (2007
"Cusack, Ellen Dymphna (Nell) (1902–1981)"
Entry in the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography''. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press * Spender, Dale (1988) ''Writing a New World: Two Centuries of Australian Women Writers'', London: Pandora {{DEFAULTSORT:Cusack, Dymphna 1902 births 1981 deaths Australian biographers Australian women novelists Members of the Order of Australia University of Sydney alumni Writers from New South Wales 20th-century Australian novelists Women biographers Australian women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century biographers