image of person or book cover 6241021910030982669.jpg
This image has been sourced from online.
y separately published work icon The Essence of the Thing single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 1997... 1997 The Essence of the Thing
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, this brilliant novel from Madeleine St John, author of The Women in Black, is a comic and tender look at the vicissitudes of love and relationships.

'Nicola should never have stepped out to buy that pack of cigarettes, because the man she discovers in her living room when she returns is not the adorable, straightforward, devoted Jonathan with whom she has been sharing her life.

'That Jonathan would never have unilaterally decided that she should, as he abruptly put it, ‘move out’.

'A shocked Nicola packs her bags and sets out bravely on the bumpy course that will take her from the end of an affair to the essence of the thing.' (Publication summary : Text Classics)

Notes

  • Dedication: For Judith McCue

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Fourth Estate ,
      1997 .
      image of person or book cover 6241021910030982669.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 234p.
      ISBN: 1857024184 (pbk.)
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Fourth Estate ,
      1998 .
      image of person or book cover 2794459875830941316.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 234p.
      ISBN: 1857027078
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Carroll and Graf ,
      1998 .
      image of person or book cover 20281071138843274.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 234p.
      ISBN: 0786705604
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Text Publishing , 2009 .
      image of person or book cover 6187816563140975491.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 249p.
      ISBN: 9781921520921 (pbk.)
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Text Publishing , 2013 .
      image of person or book cover 2142918652134645452.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 272p.
      Note/s:
      Series: y separately published work icon Text Classics Text Publishing (publisher), Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2012- Z1851461 2012 series - publisher novel 'Great books by great Australian storytellers.' (Text website.)
Alternative title: Waar het om gaat
Language: Dutch
    • Baarn,
      c
      Netherlands,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      De Kern ,
      1998 .
      image of person or book cover 3355448652605484422.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 176p.
      ISBN: 9032506463 (pbk.)

Works about this Work

Madeleine St John, The Essence of the Thing Gay Lynch , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , May vol. 7 no. 2 2015;

— Review of The Essence of the Thing Madeleine St John , 1997 single work novel
Navigating a River of Sadness Helen Trinca , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 15-16 June 2013; (p. 20-21)
'Helen Trinca considers a writer who found life a 'very mysterious business'.
Summer Sizzlers Ian Nichols , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 19 December 2009; (p. 12-14)

— Review of Red Queen Honey Brown , 2008 single work novel ; Siddon Rock Glenda Guest , 2005 single work novel ; We Don't Live Here Anymore Matt Nable , 2009 single work novel ; Brown Skin Blue Belinda Jeffrey , 2009 single work novel ; The Devil's Staircase Helen FitzGerald , 2009 single work novel ; The Paperbark Shoe Goldie Goldbloom , 2009 single work novel ; The Book of Rapture Nikki Gemmell , 2009 single work novel ; Jasper Jones Craig Silvey , 2009 single work novel ; The Essence of the Thing Madeleine St John , 1997 single work novel ; The Women in Black Madeleine St John , 1993 single work novel ; The Lost Life Steven Carroll , 2009 single work novel
Ian Nichols nominates a selection of titles for Summer reading over the 2009-2010 holiday period, including works by Australian writers.
Untitled Penelope Debelle , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 17 October 2009; (p. 24)

— Review of The Essence of the Thing Madeleine St John , 1997 single work novel
A Woman Scorned Finds True Identity Ian McFarlane , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 October 2009; (p. 13)

— Review of The Essence of the Thing Madeleine St John , 1997 single work novel
A Woman Scorned Finds True Identity Ian McFarlane , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 October 2009; (p. 13)

— Review of The Essence of the Thing Madeleine St John , 1997 single work novel
Untitled Penelope Debelle , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 17 October 2009; (p. 24)

— Review of The Essence of the Thing Madeleine St John , 1997 single work novel
Summer Sizzlers Ian Nichols , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 19 December 2009; (p. 12-14)

— Review of Red Queen Honey Brown , 2008 single work novel ; Siddon Rock Glenda Guest , 2005 single work novel ; We Don't Live Here Anymore Matt Nable , 2009 single work novel ; Brown Skin Blue Belinda Jeffrey , 2009 single work novel ; The Devil's Staircase Helen FitzGerald , 2009 single work novel ; The Paperbark Shoe Goldie Goldbloom , 2009 single work novel ; The Book of Rapture Nikki Gemmell , 2009 single work novel ; Jasper Jones Craig Silvey , 2009 single work novel ; The Essence of the Thing Madeleine St John , 1997 single work novel ; The Women in Black Madeleine St John , 1993 single work novel ; The Lost Life Steven Carroll , 2009 single work novel
Ian Nichols nominates a selection of titles for Summer reading over the 2009-2010 holiday period, including works by Australian writers.
Like Marmalade Melissa Denes , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 12 September no. 4928 1997; (p. 9)

— Review of The Essence of the Thing Madeleine St John , 1997 single work novel
Battle of the Booker Neil Jillett , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 27 September 1997; (p. 10)

— Review of The Essence of the Thing Madeleine St John , 1997 single work novel
Booker Listing Sends Madeleine 'a Bit Barmy' Christopher Henning , 1997 single work column biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 17 September 1997; (p. 1,6)
The Essence of Being a Writer Christopher Henning , 1997 single work column biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 20 September 1997; (p. 42)
Navigating a River of Sadness Helen Trinca , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 15-16 June 2013; (p. 20-21)
'Helen Trinca considers a writer who found life a 'very mysterious business'.

Awards

Last amended 13 Apr 2023 16:18:02
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