Out Of The Silence (James Novel)
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''Out of the Silence'' (2005) is a novel by
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n author
Wendy James Wendy James (born 21 January 1966) is an English singer-songwriter most notable for her work with the pop band Transvision Vamp. Transvision Vamp Born in London to Norwegian parents, James was adopted soon after birth. She left home at the a ...
. It won the 2006
Ned Kelly Award The Ned Kelly Awards (named for bushranger Ned Kelly) are Australia's leading literary awards for crime writing in both the crime fiction and true crime genres. They were established in 1996 by the Crime Writers Association of Australia to rewar ...
for Best First Crime Novel.


Plot summary

The novel is based on the true-life story of Maggie Heffernan, who, in early 1900, was convicted in Melbourne of the drowning murder of her infant son. The novel follows her grim journey from the country to the city, vainly seeking her ex-fiance, finding herself destitute and finally accused of a dreadful crime.
Vida Goldstein Vida Jane Mary Goldstein (pron. ) (13 April 186915 August 1949) was an Australian suffragist and social reformer. She was one of four female candidates at the 1903 federal election, the first at which women were eligible to stand. Goldstein wa ...
is an educated single woman running a local private school, campaigning for votes for women and contemplating running for parliament. Elizabeth Hamilton lives in Vida's aunt's house in suburban Melbourne - an upper middle-class life that provides a sharp contrast with poor Maggie's circumstances. Elizabeth and Vida take up Maggie's cause after her arrest and while their efforts don't meet with total success, all characters are changed by the events within the book.


Notes

* Sub-titled: A Story of Love, Betrayal, Politics and Murder * Dedication: For Darren - for everything * Epigraph: "History, real solemn history, I cannot be interested in...I read it a little as a duty; but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all - it is very tiresome." Jane Austen, ''Northanger Abbey'', 1817


Reviews

Mindy Laube in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' noted: "Rich period detail and a humane realism inform this stunning debut.""Out of the Silence" by Mindy Laube, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 22 October 2005
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Awards and nominations

* 2006 shortlisted
Nita Kibble Literary Award The Kibble Literary Awards comprise two awards—the Nita B Kibble Literary Award, which recognises the work of an established Australian female writer, and the Dobbie Literary Award, which is for a first published work by a female writer. The Awar ...
* 2006 winner
Ned Kelly Awards The Ned Kelly Awards (named for bushranger Ned Kelly) are Australia's leading literary awards for crime writing in both the crime fiction and true crime genres. They were established in 1996 by the Crime Writers Association of Australia to reward ...
for Crime Writing — Best First Novel


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Out of the Silence 2005 Australian novels Ned Kelly Award-winning works