image of person or book cover 8551491503421162767.jpg
This image has been sourced from online.
y separately published work icon Jessica single work   novel   historical fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 1997... 1997 Jessica
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

''A superb storyteller ... it is impossible not to be impressed by Courtenay's talents' - The Times JESSICA is based on the real life of a remarkable young Australian woman who defied the conventions of her time. She had a stubborn streak and the courage to act out her convictions ... in spite of the consequences. This compelling, sweeping story is her personal fight for justice against enormous odds, and a testimony to the power of the human spirit to triumph over adversity.' (Publication summary)

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon Jessica Bryce Courtenay's Jessica Peter Yeldham , ( dir. Peter Andrikidis ) 2004 Sydney Australia Geneva : Screentime Network Ten Powercorp , 2004 Z1131698 2004 single work film/TV

A sweeping saga of love, deceit and sacrifice set during the early years of the twentieth century in the farmlands around Narrandera, then a small frontier town in rural south-west New South Wales. The narrative focuses on the Bergman sisters, Jessica, the feisty tomboy who loves to help her father work their farmland, and her beautiful sister, Meg, who is being groomed by her mother, Hester, to be the perfect wife so that she can marry her way out of poverty. However, Richard, the man that Meg has set her sights on, falls in love with Jessica, and they later have a son. Undeterred, Hester schemes to wrench the couple apart so that Meg can claim both Richard and his son. She eventually commits her daughter to a mental asylum, and it is there Jessica receives news of her lover's death and almost loses hope. After enlisting the help of Mr Runche, a down-and-out lawyer battling alcoholism, she is eventually released and, years later, it is the reformed Runche who gives Jessica the courage to fight for the return of her child.

Notes

  • Selected in December 2004 by the Australian public in an ABC poll as Australia's 58th favourite book.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Viking , 1997 .
      Extent: 587p.
      ISBN: 0734300905
    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Viking , 1998 .
      image of person or book cover 8551491503421162767.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 587p.
      ISBN: 0670883514
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Michael Joseph ,
      1999 .
      image of person or book cover 2128697441358176256.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 587p.
      ISBN: 071814399X
    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 1999 .
      person or book cover
      Courtesy of Penguin.
      Extent: 676p.
      ISBN: 0140279601
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Penguin ,
      2000 .
      image of person or book cover 7349394937582646214.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 587p.
      ISBN: 0140279601(pbk.)
    • Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2004 .
      image of person or book cover 2502603873401999161.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 676p.
      ISBN: 0143002392
    • Scoresby, Ferntree Gully area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2014 .
      image of person or book cover 9034879914737183250.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 680p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 1 November 2014
      ISBN: 9780734311795
Language: French
    • Paris,
      c
      France,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      JC Lattès ,
      2000 .
      image of person or book cover 8362040307611566446.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 457p.
      ISBN: 2709621312

Other Formats

  • Braille.
  • Sound recording.

Works about this Work

Showman Who Knew the Power of a Story Blanche Clark , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 24 November 2012; (p. 26-27)
form y separately published work icon Bestsellers and Blockbusters Jennifer Byrne , Sydney : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 2010 15302616 2010 film/TV

'Jennifer Byrne is joined by the heavy artillery of the publishing world to discuss what it takes to be a bestselling author. Jennifer is joined by the man behind the enigmatic Jack Reacher Lee Child, author of Ice Station and The Five Greatest Warriors Matthew Reilly, author of 17 bestselling novels including The Silent Country, Di Morrissey as well as Australia's biggest selling author Bryce Courtenay.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Truth of Fiction Laurie Clancy , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , February-March no. 208 1999; (p. 20-21)

— Review of Jessica Bryce Courtenay , 1997 single work novel
Loss of Character Margaret Anderson , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 8 February 1999; (p. 8)

— Review of Jessica Bryce Courtenay , 1997 single work novel
Murrumbidgee Dreaming, and Innocence Lost Ralph Elliott , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 9 January 1999; (p. 18)

— Review of Jessica Bryce Courtenay , 1997 single work novel
Coming Soon 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 25 October 1998; (p. 19)

— Review of Jessica Bryce Courtenay , 1997 single work novel
One Long Country Song Diana Simmonds , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 1 December vol. 117 no. 6151 1998; (p. 77)

— Review of Jessica Bryce Courtenay , 1997 single work novel
Popular - Except with the Critics Chris Brice , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 5 December 1998; (p. 21)

— Review of Jessica Bryce Courtenay , 1997 single work novel
Bring on the Jaffas Robert Dixon , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 12 December 1998; (p. 7)

— Review of Jessica Bryce Courtenay , 1997 single work novel
Research and Destroy Kathy Hunt , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 12-13 December 1998; (p. 12)

— Review of Jessica Bryce Courtenay , 1997 single work novel
Showman Who Knew the Power of a Story Blanche Clark , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 24 November 2012; (p. 26-27)
Written on the Wind Caroline Baum , 1998 single work column
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 1 December vol. 117 no. 6151 1998; (p. 77)
Struck by the Power of One Story Lucy Clark , 1998 single work biography
— Appears in: The Mercury , 26 November 1998; (p. 19)
form y separately published work icon Bestsellers and Blockbusters Jennifer Byrne , Sydney : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 2010 15302616 2010 film/TV

'Jennifer Byrne is joined by the heavy artillery of the publishing world to discuss what it takes to be a bestselling author. Jennifer is joined by the man behind the enigmatic Jack Reacher Lee Child, author of Ice Station and The Five Greatest Warriors Matthew Reilly, author of 17 bestselling novels including The Silent Country, Di Morrissey as well as Australia's biggest selling author Bryce Courtenay.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Last amended 5 Jun 2020 09:59:14
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