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y separately published work icon Last Drinks single work   novel   crime  
Issue Details: First known date: 2000... 2000 Last Drinks
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'It's a decade since the infamous Inquiry into corruption tore the state of Queensland apart. But for George Verney, disgraced journalist and bit-player in the great scandals of his day, the Inquiry has never quite finished. After ten years of self-imposed exile, drawn by the terrible death of a man who was his friend, he reluctantly returns to Brisbane, the city of his downfall. In a town he no longer recognises and through an underworld that has forgotten him, George must seek out the other hidden survivors of his times, to confront the truth about their common past, and to find a way to let the dead rest in peace.' (from back cover)

Notes

  • Author's note: This is a work of fiction. While obviously inspired to some degree by the Fitzgerald inquiry and its era in Queensland, this is not, even for a moment, an historic or factual version of those times. In particular, no character in this book should be mistaken for any actual person, living or dead.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • St Leonards, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2000 .
      image of person or book cover 4770739525798884246.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 377p.
      ISBN: 1865084069
    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2001 .
      image of person or book cover 884835013477341647.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 337p.
      ISBN: 1865085928
    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2005 .
      image of person or book cover 8516360355022002204.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 1v.p.
      ISBN: 1741147743
Alternative title: Derniers verres
Language: French
    • Arles,
      c
      France,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Actes Sud ,       2007 .
      image of person or book cover 8992571237629518631.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 437p.p.
      ISBN: 9782742765539
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Other Formats

  • Sound recording.
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Related Works

Recent and History Andrew McGahan , Jan McKemmish (interviewer), 2001 single work interview
— Appears in: Writing Queensland , April no. 95 2001; (p. 18-19) "Andrew McGahan talks with Jan McKemmish about the writing of Last Drinks, a crime novel set in Brisbane."
From : Last Drinks Andrew McGahan , 2002 extract novel (Last Drinks)
— Appears in: Hot Iron Corrugated Sky : 100 Years of Queensland Writing 2002; (p. 72-73)
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Works about this Work

Australia in Three Books Robert Lukins , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Meanjin , Autumn vol. 78 no. 1 2019; (p. 22-25)

'I’ve heard of that place, Australia. There are even some memories that persist of it as a discrete, identifiable object. It was a thing taught to me in primary school in jovial, unambiguous ways. It was a series of tales of sheep, and rushes of gold, and the bushranging bloke with a metal bucket on his head. It played cricket against the West Indies. It was precisely 200 years old and we dressed as convicts and walked down the town’s main street to celebrate this fact. All incompleteness and lies that I felt disconnected from then, as I do now.'  (Introduction)
Engaging the Metaphorical City : Brisbane Male Fiction 1975-2007 Susan Carson , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Sweat : The Subtropical Imaginary 2011; (p. 45-53) 'Brisbane writers and writing are increasingly represented as important to the city's identity as a site of urban cool, at least in marketing and public relations paradigms. It is therefore remarkable that recent Brisbane fiction clings strongly to a particular relationship to the climatic and built environment that is often located in the past and which seemingly turns away, or at least elides, the 'new' technologically-driven Brisbane. Literary Brisbane is often depicted in the context of nostalgia for the Brisbane that once was—a tropical, timbered, luxuriant city in which sex is associated with heat, and, in particular, sweat. In this writing sweat can produced by adrenaline or heat, but in particular, in Brisbane novels, it is the sweat of sex that characterises the literary city. Given that Brisbane is in fact a subtropical city, it is interesting that metaphors of a tropical climate and vegetation occur so frequently in Brisbane stories (and narratives set in other parts of the state) that writer Thea Astley was prompted at one point to remark that Queensland writing was in danger of developing into a tropical cliché.' Susan Carson.
Crime Scenes : The Importance of Place in Australian Crime Fiction Michael X. Savvas , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journeying and Journalling : Creative and Critical Meditations on Travel Writing 2010; (p. 204-213) 'There are eight million stories about crime fiction. And this is one of them. There are two main ways in which writers use place in crime fiction. The first way is to use place to help create a certain mood and atmosphere. The second way is to use the geographical or physical features of a place imaginatively as a plot device. Sometimes the journeys that are made by characters in crime fiction serve to remind us as readers of these two major devices. Although historically a lot of Australian crime fiction has not focused on place in terms of setting, this is changing as Australia continues to change. (Author's introduction, 204)
A City in Its Own Write Phil Brown , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: Brisbane News , 6 - 12 May no. 733 2009; (p. 12-13)
Adapting Australian Novels for the Stage : La Boite Theatre's Version of Last Drinks, Perfect Skin, and Johnno Joanne Tompkins , 2008 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , vol. 23 no. 3 2008; (p. 305-317)
Crime Traveller Derek Rielly , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: Limelight , September 2004; (p. 47)
— Review of Last Drinks Andrew McGahan , 2000 single work novel
Closing Time Peter Pierce , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January (2000-2001) no. 227 2000; (p. 53)
— Review of Last Drinks Andrew McGahan , 2000 single work novel
Last Drinks Lara Travis , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Meanjin : Fine Writing & Provocative Ideas , vol. 59 no. 4 2000; (p. 226-228)
— Review of Last Drinks Andrew McGahan , 2000 single work novel
Untitled Mark Butler , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian's Review of Books , December vol. 5 no. 11 2000; (p. 24)
— Review of Last Drinks Andrew McGahan , 2000 single work novel
Shady Dealings Katharine England , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 2 December 2000; (p. 25)
— Review of Last Drinks Andrew McGahan , 2000 single work novel
Corruption in The Truth Teller and Last Drinks Alissa Macoun , Don Fletcher , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Social Alternatives , Winter vol. 21 no. 3 2002; (p. 15-19) The article analyses the manner in which the two novels illuminate the Queensland Fitzgerald Inquiry into corruption.
Moving on to the Land Michelle Griffin , 2004 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 1 May 2004; (p. 3)
We're Here Because There's Beer Chris Middendorp , 2004 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 4 December 2004; (p. 8) Australia's economy was once driven by alcohol and the social influence of drinking remains strong. The author discusses Australians' relationship with alcohol and how this has been portrayed in Australian literature.
'How Small the Light of Home' : Andrew McGahan and the Politics of Guilt James Ley , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 280 2006; (p. 35-39)
Adapting Australian Novels for the Stage : La Boite Theatre's Version of Last Drinks, Perfect Skin, and Johnno Joanne Tompkins , 2008 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , vol. 23 no. 3 2008; (p. 305-317)
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Awards

VIEW ALL AWARDS (3)
Last amended 31 Aug 2020 08:22:32
Subjects:
Settings:
  • Brisbane, Queensland,
  • Country towns,
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