y separately published work icon Speaking to Miranda single work   novel   young adult   fantasy  
Issue Details: First known date: 1990... 1990 Speaking to Miranda
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

In the search to uncover the mystery behind her mother's death in a surfing accident sixteen years earlier, 18 year-old Ruby discovers some of the answers as she also struggles with emotional confusion, especially over identity, both her mother's and her own.

Notes

  • Dedication: For E. W.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Viking , 1990 .
      Extent: 184p.
      ISBN: 0670834718
    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Puffin , 1992 .
      Extent: 184, [1]p.p.
      Reprinted: 1996 Reprinted several times
      ISBN: 0140349707 (pbk)
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Willa Perlman Books ,
      1992 .
      Extent: 251p.
      Edition info: 1st American edition
      ISBN: 0060211032 (lib. bdg), 0060211024 (hbk)

Other Formats

  • Also braille, sound recording.

Works about this Work

y separately published work icon Mother What Art Thou? : A Study of the Depiction of Mother Figures in Recent Australian and New Zealand Fiction for Teenagers Jane Siddall , Perth : 2003 18159916 2003 single work thesis

'This thesis is a study of the representations of mothers and mother figures as found in five contemporary (published between 1984 and 1999) novels for teenagers. The focus is on western constructions of motherhood, as both normalising and universalising discourses. Utilising a variety of critical approaches this thesis examines the socio-cultural issues present in the novels in conjunction with western models of maternity. This study argues the category of mother is interdependent upon the category of child. As children's literature often focuses on the development of the child, the mother figures are often read as the “unconscious” of the texts. I examine the extent to which the mother figures are given a "subject-in-processness" (Lucas, 1998, p.39) subjectivity. The texts considered are The Changeover (First published in 1984) by Margaret Mahy; Greylands (1997) by lsobelle Carmody; Speaking to Miranda (First published in 1990) by Caroline Macdonald: Touching earth lightly (1996) by Margo Lanagan and Closed, Stranger (1999) by Kate De Goldi. In part, the selection of the texts has been based upon the various and multifaceted relationships between the mothers and the children. I use the Mahy text as a means to establish selected mother and, to a lesser degree, child characteristics. Some comparisons are made with this sole text of the 19805, in order to ascertain if there has been an evolution in the articulation of mother, figures in the 1990s. This study does not adopt a survey approach nor does it claim that the five novels present all the categories of "mother". Rather it addresses categories such as, mother as nurturer, as sexual being and, importantly, the dichotomy of the “good/​bad" mother. Within western discourses of maternity, this latter category is still used as a model by which to label women who mother. This study considers the stability of this binary within the novels. This thesis relies upon close reading of the primary texts. The emphasis is on critical approaches that draw attention to contexts, with particular emphasis on the socio-cultural issues present in each particular novel. My readings suggest that there is the possibility for engagement with the texts' social content/​comment, in conjunction with the representations of western models of maternity. I draw from a variety of motherhood discourses and theoretical approaches, including amongst others, the work of Luce Irigaray, HeIene Cixous, Judith Hennan, Martha Fineman, Rose Lucas, and Robyn McCallum.'

Source: Abstract.

Representations of Mothers and Mothering in Contemporary Australian Children's Literature Margot Hillel , 1997 single work criticism
— Appears in: La Trobe Library Journal , Spring no. 60 1997; (p. 97-107)
Caroline Macdonald : 'Future to Present' Maureen Nimon , 1997 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Adolescent Novel : Australian Perspectives 1997; (p. 165-172)
Other Selves: Subjectivity and the 'Doppelganger' in Australian Adolescent Fiction Robyn McCallum , 1996 single work criticism
— Appears in: Writing the Australian Child : Texts and Contexts in Fictions for Children 1996; (p. 17-36)
The People: Family Life Versus Individualism John Foster , Maureen Nimon , E. J. Finnis , 1995 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Children's Literature : An Exploration of Genre and Theme 1995; (p. 121-136)
Untitled Karen Jameyson , 1991 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 6 no. 2 1991; (p. 33)

— Review of Speaking to Miranda Caroline Macdonald , 1990 single work novel
Kids Don't Need More Old Hat Robin Morrow , 1991 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 20-21 July 1991; (p. 4)

— Review of Hector and Maggie Janet McLean , 1990 single work picture book ; Magic Beach Alison Lester , 1990 single work picture book ; Strange Objects Gary Crew , 1990 single work novel ; The Farseekers Isobelle Carmody , 1990 single work novel ; Captain Deadlight's Treasure S. A. Wakefield , 1990 single work children's fiction ; Jeremy's Tail : A Story Duncan Ball , 1990 single work picture book ; Hero Allan Baillie , 1990 single work novel ; First at Last : And Other Stories Julia McClelland , 1990 selected work children's fiction ; Greetings from Sandy Beach Bob Graham , 1990 single work picture book ; Speaking to Miranda Caroline Macdonald , 1990 single work novel ; Boris and Borsch Robin Klein , 1990 single work picture book
Forecasts Margaret Dunkle , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Bookseller & Publisher , September vol. 70 no. 1008 1990; (p. 36,38)

— Review of Speaking to Miranda Caroline Macdonald , 1990 single work novel
Slowly Unfolding Secret Devika Sen , 1991 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 19 January 1991; (p. B6)

— Review of Speaking to Miranda Caroline Macdonald , 1990 single work novel
Carved Up With a Keen Sense of the Absurd Michelle De Kretser , 1991 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2 February 1991; (p. 41)

— Review of Speaking to Miranda Caroline Macdonald , 1990 single work novel ; In this House Janet Shaw , 1990 selected work short story
Representations of Mothers and Mothering in Contemporary Australian Children's Literature Margot Hillel , 1997 single work criticism
— Appears in: La Trobe Library Journal , Spring no. 60 1997; (p. 97-107)
Other Selves: Subjectivity and the 'Doppelganger' in Australian Adolescent Fiction Robyn McCallum , 1996 single work criticism
— Appears in: Writing the Australian Child : Texts and Contexts in Fictions for Children 1996; (p. 17-36)
Caroline Macdonald : 'Future to Present' Maureen Nimon , 1997 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Adolescent Novel : Australian Perspectives 1997; (p. 165-172)
The People: Family Life Versus Individualism John Foster , Maureen Nimon , E. J. Finnis , 1995 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Children's Literature : An Exploration of Genre and Theme 1995; (p. 121-136)
[In]quest of the Subject: The Dialogic Construction of Subjectivity in Caroline Macdonald's 'Speaking to Miranda' Robyn McCallum , 1992 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , [December] vol. 3 no. 3 1992; (p. 99-105)
McCallum examines "the narrative strategies used by Macdonald [in Speaking to Miranda] to represent the complex processes through which subjectivity is constructed out of a range of appropriated discourses, images, voices, memories and desires".
Last amended 29 May 2014 15:01:31
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