A Dozen Bloomin' Roses single work   children's fiction   children's  
Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 A Dozen Bloomin' Roses
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The story follows the narrator's encounter with a boy, Gerald, who purchases a bouquet of a dozen roses for a girl. After a series of embarrassing accidents including spending most of his grandmother's pension, destroying the flowers on the train and being publicly humiliated by a local skinhead called Scouse, Gerald runs down a train tunnel and is killed by an oncoming train. As the narrator struggles to cope with Gerald's death, 12 roses appear from their hand, a gift from Gerald from beyond the grave. Afterwards when the narrator has a violent altercation on a train with Scouse, the train suddenly becomes completely filled with roses which result in the death of the skinhead, saving the narrator's life. At the conclusion, it's revealed that the narrator, Samantha, was the girl Gerald had bought the flowers.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirky_Tails)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Paul Jennings' Spookiest Stories Paul Jennings , Camberwell : Viking , 2007 Z1435391 2007 selected work children's fiction children's horror 'This special anthology boasts twenty of Paul's spookiest, fun-filled yarns, hand picked by Paul himself' (Source: author's website). Camberwell : Viking , 2007 pg. 77-88
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Things a Map Won't Show You : Stories from Australia and Beyond Susan La Marca (editor), Pam Macintyre (editor), Camberwell : Penguin , 2012 Z1834405 2012 anthology short story poetry prose crime

    'An unforgettable collection of short fiction, poetry and comic art from Australia and beyond . . .

    'A boy who tries to fly, a cricket game in a refugee centre, a government guide to kissing, the perils of hunting goannas, an arranged marriage, an awkward blind date, a girl who stands on her head, an imprisoned king and a cursed Maori stone . . .

    'Sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic, always compelling, this collection featuring both established writers and emerging talent will broaden your horizons and excite your imagination.'

    Source: Publisher's blurb.

    Camberwell : Penguin , 2012
    pg. 251-266

Works about this Work

The Man on the Stair Paul Jennings , 1988 single work column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , September vol. 3 no. 4 1988; (p. 9-12)
The Man on the Stair Paul Jennings , 1988 single work column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , September vol. 3 no. 4 1988; (p. 9-12)
Last amended 19 Jun 2020 09:12:15
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X