''The Beloved'' (2012) 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

Annah Faulkner Annah Faulkner (1949/1950 – 8 March 2022) was an Australian novelist. At the age of five, Faulkner moved with her parents to Papua New Guinea and later lived on Queensland's Sunshine Coast with her husband. She died in March 2022, after lea ...

. It won the 2013

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 ...

.Austlit - ''The Beloved''
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Book summary

Roberta (Bertie) Lightfoot moves from post-war

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in the 1950s to post-colonial frontier town,

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

. One day she discovers she has

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

and the novel follows her long road to recovery and the subsequent discovery of her gifts as a painter.

Reviews

"Readings" bookstore called the novel "Tender and witty, ''The Beloved'' is a moving debut novel which paints a vivid portrait of both the beauty and the burden of unconditional love." Mary Anne Elliott, reviewing the novel in ''The Northern Star'' stated: "Faulkner's engaging and evocative narrative never falters; it is by turns wise, witty and completely delightful.""Book Review: ''The Beloved''" ''The Northern Star'', 27 September 2012
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Awards

* 2011 winner

Queensland Premier's Literary Awards The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

— Best Manuscript of an Emerging Queensland Author * 2013 shortlisted

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 ...

* 2013 winner Kibble Literary Awards —

References

2012 Australian novels Picador (imprint) books {{2010s-novel-stub