''Edens Lost'' (1969) is a novel by Australian writer
Sumner Locke Elliott.
[Austlit - ''Edens Lost'' by Sumner Locke Elliott]
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Plot summary
The novel is a family saga told through the eyes of 16-year-old Angus Weekes who goes to live with the St James family in the Blue Mountains area of New South Wales after the death of his guardian.
Critical reception
On its original publication ''Kirkus Review'' found: "All of this is, in its fashion, opulently romantic and pleasantly parlayed in silvery, sugary words (delightfuls and entrancings) without altogether forfeiting the realities of living and loving it sometimes seems to camouflage."
Dennis Altman
Dennis Patkin Altman (born 16 August 1943) is an Australian academic and gay rights activist.
Early childhood
Altman was born in Sydney, New South Wales to Jewish immigrant parents, and spent most of his childhood in Hobart, Tasmania.
Educa ...
nominated the book as his favourite novel in ''The Australian'' and noted: "Like all of Elliott's writings based on his formative years, ''Edens Lost'' evokes pre-Menzies Australia through writing that is beautiful and precise. I suspect Elliott is one of the greatest stylists Australian writing has produced, even if a contemporary reader may lose patience at the careful accumulation of detail and minute observation that evokes for me the Sydney in which my parents met and married. I read ''Edens Lost'' when it was first published, in the early days of gay liberation, both knowing and not knowing that only a gay man could have written this book."
Notes
* Dedication: For Marie
* Epigraph: "Where the apple reddens / Never pry - / Lest we lose our Edens, / Eve and I." / Browning, 'A Woman's Last Word'
Television adaptation
The novel was adapted for a television mini-series, produced by 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 ...
(ABC) and Central Independent Television
ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee for the Midlands. It was created following the rest ...
. The adaptation was directed by Neil Armfield
Neil Geoffrey Armfield (born 22 April 1955) is an Australian director of theatre, film and opera.
Biography
Born in Sydney, Armfield is the third and youngest son of Len, a factory worker at the nearby Arnott's Biscuits factory and Nita Armf ...
, from a script by Michael Gow, and featured Julia Blake
Julia Blake (born 1936) is an English–born Australian actress. She is known for her small screen role as Nancy McCormack on the Australian drama series ''Prisoner'' (''Prisoner: Cell Block H''), for which she appeared during the final season ...
, Arthur Dignam
Arthur Dignam (9 September 1939 – 9 May 2020) was an Australian stage and screen actor.
Biography
Dignam was born on Lord Howe Island. He attended Newington College in Sydney as a boarder in 1955 and 1956 and then the University of Sydney.
...
and Linda Cropper
Linda Cropper (born 1 January 1958) is an Australian actress, primarily known for her role as Geraldine Proudman in the TV series ''Offspring'' and as Dame Nellie Melba in the television series '' Melba''. An shortened edited version of the tel ...
. It was broadcast in Australia on the ABC over 3 episodes commencing on 28 February 1989.IMDB - ''Edens Lost''
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See also
* 1969 in Australian literature
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edens Lost
1969 Australian novels