Cath and Annie take a deep dive into the brilliant, celebrated and mysterious life of Elizabeth Harrower, author of the 1960s Australian classic “The Watch Tower”.

Cath first reviews Harrower’s most celebrated work and then Annie speaks to Harrower’s biographer, Susan Wyndham, about the enigmatic novelist's past to better understand the woman, her times, and why the career of this impressive writer of deep psychological dramas ended so suddenly.

Guests
Susan Wyndham, author of “The Woman in the Watchtower”

Other books that get a mention:

“Half of a Yellow Sun” by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“A Frightfully English Execution” by Shamini Flint

“Murder on North Terrace” and “The Death of Dora Black” by Lainie Anderson

“What We Can Know” by Ian McEwen

INSTAGRAM

@wyndhamsusan1
@newsouthpublishing

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Drawing on her own family history for inspiration, Heather Rose delivers a compelling and heart rending saga of a father and daughter torn apart by a terrible crime. In “A Great Act of Love” Caroline Douglas carries her dark secret to the penal colony of Van Dieman’s Land to begin life anew - but can she escape her past; does she even want to?

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It’s no small thing to decide to be a publisher in today’s busy book marketplace but that’s what Emily Riches did. Aniko Press’s first offering is “The Slip” by Miriam Webster who was recently interviewed on Episode 56 this podcast. Aniko also publishes a literary journal and is always on the lookout for new talent.

Guests
Heather Rose, author of “A Great Act of Love”

Emily Riches, founder of Aniko Press

https://www.anikopress.com/

Other books that get a mention:

Heather mentions Rebecca Yaros’ “Fourth Wing”, Robert Galbraith’s crime series, Maggie O’Farrell’s “The Marriage Portrait”, Hannah Kent’s “Always Home, Always Homesick”, Richard Macfarlane’s “Is A River Alive?” and “The Epic of Gilgamesh”.

INSTAGRAM

@heather_rose_writes

@allenandunwin

@aniko press

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In “The Seeker and the Sage” a traumatised journalist is given a dream assignment - track down the mayor of a mysterious town whose citizens are the happiest people on Earth. She wants to learn how to live a good life but the town’s mayor wants to protect his dominion from the modern world. In what is an allegory for our times; Delaney poses the question: can the ancient philosophy of Stoicism help us create our own utopias in an increasingly troubled world?

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Short fiction set in the Pacific Islands was a popular genre in the early 20th century. Associate Professor Mandy Treagus offers a deep analysis of the adventuring writers whose stories were set in these islands, such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London and W. Somerset Maughan.

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Our random reader, Lesley, introduces us to Jan Morris’ book “Conundrum” in which Jan shares a grippingly honest account of her ten-year transition from man to woman. On first publication in 1974, “Conundrum” generated enormous interest around the world and was chosen by “The Times” as one of the '100 Key Books of Our Time'.

Guests
Brigid Delaney, author of “The Seeker and the Sage”

Mandy Treagus, Associate Professor in English and Creative Writing at the University of Adelaide, author of “The Pacific Tale: Short fiction from 1890 - 1950”

Other books that get a mention:

Cath mentions Richard Osman’s “The Impossible Fortune”, Mick Herron’s “Clown Town” and “Peter Ackroyd’s “The English Soul; Faith of a Nation”

Annie mentions “What we can Know” by Ian McEwin, “Ripeness” by Sarah Moss and “Novacene; The coming of age of hyper intelligence” by James Lovelock

INSTAGRAM

@allenandunwin

@palgrave_macmillan

@brigidwd

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