Cirrus@Austlit

'Hi everyone. My name’s Russell Smith and I’m a lecturer in Modern Literature at ANU. I got to know Gabrielle in 2019 when she came to ANU as a recipient of a six-month H.C. Coombs Creative Fellowship. I remember quite clearly the first time I met her. My colleague Lucy Neave would normally be the person who welcomes and hosts Creative Fellows, but she was away on leave and asked me if I would step in. I must admit I was a bit apprehensive because, without knowing much about Gabrielle—and with all due respect to the writers (like myself) present in the room—I was a bit worried she might be ‘high maintenance’. I needn’t have worried, of course: we hit it off immediately. I had arranged to meet her in Mocan and Green Grout, a quirky little café tucked away in a hard-to-find nook at the edge of the University precinct; it’s a bit of a well-kept Canberra secret, or so I thought. When I arrived Gabrielle was already there, set up with her notebook and a coffee and immediately said ‘Great choice! This is one of my favourite places in Canberra!’' (Introduction)

'Elizabeth von Arnim is one of the early 20^th century’s most famous – and forgotten –authors. Born in Sydney in the mid 1800s, she went on to write many internationally bestselling novels, marry a Prussian Count and then an English Lord, nurture close friendships with H.G. Wells and E.M. Forster and raise five children.

'Her novels were ahead of their time in their representation of women and their pursuit of happiness. Intrigued by von Arnim’s extraordinary life and vibrant career, Gabrielle Carey sets off on a literary and philosophical journey to know more about this talented author.

'When I first went in search for Elizabeth von Arnim I got on a ferry. I thought, for once, I should do what proper biographers do and begin at the beginning – where she was born. Because so far, all three proper biographers had got it wrong. The first biographer, Elizabeth’s daughter, knew that her mother was born in Australia but wasn’t sure where. The second claimed she was born in New Zealand, presumably because she was from the same Beauchamp family as her cousin, Katherine Mansfield. And the third, and most recent, who had followed Elizabeth’s footsteps throughout Europe, but not her infant footsteps around Sydney Harbour, also misplaced her subject’s birthplace, describing it as ‘overlooking Rose Bay’ and and remarking ‘that the site of her birth is still known as Clifton Gardens.’'  (Introduction)

'Dr Gabrielle Carey explores the career of author Ivan Southall.'

'At the age of nine, Gabrielle Carey fell in love with her favourite author. She wasn’t alone. Hundreds of thousands of other young readers also fell in love with Ivan Southall and many wrote him adoring fan mail. But Ivan Southall—warm and tender in his letters to children—is not, she finds, so loveable in real life. In fact, he is not the man that Gabrielle remembered at all.'  (Publication summary)

'My father, Alex Carey, a fourth-generation Australian, was a lefty and an activist, who worked long hours as a university lecturer. But despite - or perhaps because of - being a largely absent father, he was my childhood hero. I marched with him in peace protests and listened to him address anti-war rallies; I wore a Troops Out badge to Sutherland North Primary School and showed photos of napalmed Vietnamese peasants to friends whose older brothers had been conscripted. Like my father, I exerted little influence.' (Publication abstract)

'Two literary lives defined by storytelling and secrets

'As her mother Joan lies dying, Gabrielle Carey writes a letter to Joan’s childhood friend, the reclusive novelist Randolph Stow. This letter sets in motion a literary pilgrimage that reveals long-buried family secrets. Like her mother, Stow had grown up in Western Australia. After early literary success and a Miles Franklin Award win in 1958 for his novel To the Islands, he left for England and a life of self-imposed exile.

'Living most of her life on the east coast, Gabrielle was also estranged from her family’s west Australian roots, but never questioned why. A devoted fan of Stow’s writing, she becomes fascinated by his connection with her extended family, but before she can meet him he dies. With only a few pieces of correspondence to guide her, Gabrielle embarks on a journey from the red-dirt landscape of Western Australia to the English seaside town of Harwich in a quest to understand her family’s past and Stow’s place in it.

'Moving Among Strangers is a celebration of one of Australia’s most enigmatic and visionary writers.'