image of person or book cover 1293208725977529394.jpg
This image has been sourced from online
y separately published work icon The Scarlet Rider single work   novel   mystery   fantasy  
Issue Details: First known date: 1996... 1996 The Scarlet Rider
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Young historian Melvina Kirksley is hired by an all-female publishing company to discover who wrote The Scarlet Rider, Or, A Mystery of the Gold-Diggings. The novel had originally been serialized anonymously in an 1860s newspaper. As she gets closer to the heart of the mystery, she feels the past come alive and begins to question her own identity, both now... and then.


Colin Steel writes in 2001: 'Melvina becomes increasingly estranged from her medical student boyfriend (a not-quite-convincing relationship) and her best friends, but new relationships are formed with a publisher, genealogists and a descendant of one of the real-life Victorian characters. On a number of levels Sussex peels away the past to reveal its links to the present. As the darker forces of Melvina's "possession" become apparent, the innocent academic research becomes a matter of life and death' (SF Commentary No 77, p.55).

Notes

  • Dedication: This book is dedicated to the memory of four doughty Victorian women, my great-grandmothers: Marion Sperring Wilson, Jane Bailiff Fyfe, Emma Melvina Harrison Hearn, Nancy Wardman Sussex.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Forge ,
      1996 .
      image of person or book cover 1293208725977529394.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online
      Extent: 350p.
      ISBN: 0312852932
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Tor ,
      1999 .
      image of person or book cover 6328290613952254651.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 350p.
      ISBN: 0812549236
    • Nedlands, Inner Perth, Perth, Western Australia,: Ticonderoga Publications , 2015 .
      image of person or book cover 4338314286176051838.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 318p.p.
      Edition info: 2nd edition
      Note/s:
      • Published 22 June 2015.
      ISBN: 1921857218, 9781921857218

Works about this Work

The Australian Horror Novel Since 1950 James Doig , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 112-127)
According to James Doig the horror genre 'was overlooked by the popular circulating libraries in Australia.' In this chapter he observes that this 'marginalization of horror reflects both the trepidation felt by the conservative library system towards 'penny dreadfuls,' and the fact that horror had limited popular appeal with the British (and Australian) reading public.' Doig concludes that there is 'no Australian author of horror novels with the same commercial cachet' as authors of fantasy or science fiction. He proposes that if Australian horror fiction wants to compete successfully 'in the long-term it needs to develop a flourishing and vibrant small press contingent prepared to nurture new talent' like the USA and UK small presses.' (Editor's foreword xii)
Scanners Bruce Gillespie , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , August no. 80 2010; (p. 50)

— Review of Borderline Leanne Frahm , 1996 selected work short story ; Dream Weavers 1996 anthology short story ; The Scarlet Rider Lucy Sussex , 1996 single work novel
The Romance of Research : An Interview with Lucy Sussex Van Ikin (interviewer), 2000 single work interview
— Appears in: Imago : New Writing , vol. 12 no. 3 2000; (p. 44-50)
An Eidolon Interview with Lucy Sussex Steven Paulsen (interviewer), 1997 single work interview
— Appears in: Eidolon : The Journal of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy , Autumn no. 24 1997; (p. 22-29)
Lucy Sussex discusses her approaches to writing SF and fantasy fiction.
Koontz Enters the Twilight Zone Colin Steele , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 5 April 1997; (p. C10)

— Review of The Scarlet Rider Lucy Sussex , 1996 single work novel
Scanners Bruce Gillespie , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , August no. 80 2010; (p. 50)

— Review of Borderline Leanne Frahm , 1996 selected work short story ; Dream Weavers 1996 anthology short story ; The Scarlet Rider Lucy Sussex , 1996 single work novel
Books Read Recently Bruce Gillespie , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Scratch Pad 20 , December 1996; (p. 5-7)

— Review of Borderline Leanne Frahm , 1996 selected work short story ; The Scarlet Rider Lucy Sussex , 1996 single work novel ; Dealers in Light and Darkness Cherry Wilder , 1979 selected work short story ; Off Limits : Tales of Alien Sex 1996 anthology short story
A Form of Script-Tease Kate Macdonell , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January (1996-1997) no. 187 1996; (p. 68-69)

— Review of The Scarlet Rider Lucy Sussex , 1996 single work novel
Untitled Bill Congreve , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Aurealis : Australian Fantasy & Science Fiction , no. 18 1996; (p. 75-76)

— Review of The Scarlet Rider Lucy Sussex , 1996 single work novel
Koontz Enters the Twilight Zone Colin Steele , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 5 April 1997; (p. C10)

— Review of The Scarlet Rider Lucy Sussex , 1996 single work novel
An Eidolon Interview with Lucy Sussex Steven Paulsen (interviewer), 1997 single work interview
— Appears in: Eidolon : The Journal of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy , Autumn no. 24 1997; (p. 22-29)
Lucy Sussex discusses her approaches to writing SF and fantasy fiction.
The Australian Horror Novel Since 1950 James Doig , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 112-127)
According to James Doig the horror genre 'was overlooked by the popular circulating libraries in Australia.' In this chapter he observes that this 'marginalization of horror reflects both the trepidation felt by the conservative library system towards 'penny dreadfuls,' and the fact that horror had limited popular appeal with the British (and Australian) reading public.' Doig concludes that there is 'no Australian author of horror novels with the same commercial cachet' as authors of fantasy or science fiction. He proposes that if Australian horror fiction wants to compete successfully 'in the long-term it needs to develop a flourishing and vibrant small press contingent prepared to nurture new talent' like the USA and UK small presses.' (Editor's foreword xii)
A Form of Script-Tease Kate Macdonell , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January (1996-1997) no. 187 1996; (p. 68-69)

— Review of The Scarlet Rider Lucy Sussex , 1996 single work novel
The Romance of Research : An Interview with Lucy Sussex Van Ikin (interviewer), 2000 single work interview
— Appears in: Imago : New Writing , vol. 12 no. 3 2000; (p. 44-50)
Last amended 28 Sep 2020 16:10:30
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