person or book cover
Image courtesy of Penguin.
y separately published work icon The Ghost's Child single work   novel   young adult   fantasy  
Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 The Ghost's Child
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Maddy yearns for her life to be mystifying, to be as magical as a fairy story. And then one day, on the beach, she meets the strangest young man she has ever seen.

'The Ghost's Child is an enchanting fable about the worth of life, and the power of love.' (Publisher's blurb)

Notes

  • Dedication: For Julie Watts
  • The Ghost's Child was the Australian selection for the 2010 IBBY honour list.

Affiliation Notes

  • This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has a Korean translation.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2007 .
      person or book cover
      Image courtesy of Penguin.
      Extent: 178p.
      ISBN: 9780670029457 (hbk), 0670029459 (hbk)
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Walker Books [London] ,
      2008 .
      image of person or book cover 3911791903924861282.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 191p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 5th May 2008
      ISBN: 9781406313192 140631319X
    • Somerville, Massachusetts,
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Candlewick Press ,
      2008 .
      image of person or book cover 6975322492677971557.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 176p.
      Edition info: 1st US ed.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 1st October 2008
      ISBN: 9780763639648
Alternative title: Pojken i soffan
Language: Swedish
    • Stockholm,
      c
      Sweden,
      c
      Scandinavia, Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      BonnierCarlsen ,
      2008 .
      image of person or book cover 2139601078068177636.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 158p.
      ISBN: 9789163862526

Other Formats

Works about this Work

The Joy of a Gothic Fable : Form, Didacticism and ‘Happy-ness’ in Sonya Hartnett’s The Ghost’s Child and Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook Allison Craven , 2020 single work criticism
— Appears in: Aeternum : The Journal of Contemporary Gothic Studies , June vol. 7 no. 1 2020; (p. 1-16)
'In this article, the novel The Ghost’s Child and the film The Babadook are discussed as extended fables in which the didacticism of the fable form is expressed in Gothic modes. While the Gothic is traditionally associated with disturbance, despair and fragmentation of identity, these works are striking for the joyful key in which they conclude and the optimistic messages that accompany the resolutions. Both are therefore related to Catherine Spooner’s (2017) concept of post-millennial “happy Gothic” which offers an alternative to the traditional view of Gothic. The happy-ness of these works is anchored in the fable form of the narratives, and examination of the form contributes to Spooner’s allied project to examine both what Gothic “is” and what it “does”. The happy-ness of these fables also inflects their connection to domestic traditions of Australian Gothic and the wider Gothic influences they exhibit. These are traced in the range of Sonya Hartnett’s uses of Gothic in her personal oeuvre, and the traces in The Babadook from European art film and the paranoid woman’s film of the mid-twentieth century.' (Publication abstract)
Silencing and Subjugation Masquerading as Love and Understanding : Sonya Hartnett's The Ghost's Child Maureen Clark , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Looking Glass : New Perspectives on Children's Literature , vol. 17 no. 3 2014;

'Astrid Lindgren Award winner Sonya Hartnett's work is always many-layered, intriguing and thought-provoking. This study considers The Ghost Child, a fictional memoir of families and relationships, in a post-colonial context and, while it speaks of timeless universal human interests such as resilience, love, loss and longing, dependency and betrayal, it also works allegorically as a reminder that how we see ourselves is shaped by the historical and cultural discourses which define us. More specifically, the novel brings to light the power-imbalances often found across cultures in the practice of everyday post-colonial life.

'Therefore, this paper argues that the authority contained in Hartnett’s principal character’s “living” voice masks colonial discourses of silencing and subjugation in play. When considered in these terms, The Ghost Child becomes an artistic forum for the unearthing of how colonialism’s self-serving, discursive representations have, historically, spoken for colonised individuals, children and adults alike, denying them equal participation in the affairs of life.' (Publication abstract)

Editor's Introduction Caroline Jones , 2014 single work essay
— Appears in: The Looking Glass : New Perspectives on Children's Literature , vol. 17 no. 3 2014;
'Caroline Jones introduces this issue's "Alice's Academy" article.'
The Case for The Ghost's Child by Sonya Hartnett Victoria Flanagan , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 26 March 2014;

— Review of The Ghost's Child Sonya Hartnett , 2007 single work novel
Fear, Voice, and the Environment in Sonya Hartnett's Forest and The Midnight Zoo Lesley Hawkes , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations Into Children's Literature , vol. 21 no. 1 2011; (p. 67-76)
'Subtle is not a word that is normally associated with Sonya Hartnett's style. Rather, she is known for her stark, bold approach. However, when it comes to the Australian environment, Hartnett is indeed subtle in her approach. Hartnett has set in play a new, almost posthumanist style of writing about the nonhuman. The Australian landscape and environment has always figured prominently in Australian literature for both adults and children but Hartnett has taken this writing in a totally different direction. This article looks at two of Hartnett's novels, Forest and The Midnight Zoo, and examines how Hartnett offers new and exciting avenues of thought regarding the place of humans in that environment.' (Author's abstract)
Another Feather in the Cap of Love Christopher Bantick , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 14 July 2007; (p. 27)

— Review of The Ghost's Child Sonya Hartnett , 2007 single work novel
Ethereal Fable of Age, Love and Longing Liam Davison , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 14-15 July 2007; (p. 13)

— Review of The Ghost's Child Sonya Hartnett , 2007 single work novel
Hartnett Finds a Lighter Touch Ronni Phillips , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 21 July 2007; (p. 17)

— Review of The Ghost's Child Sonya Hartnett , 2007 single work novel
This Flighty Fable Never Gets off the Ground Meg Sorensen , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28-29 July 2007; (p. 34-35)

— Review of The Ghost's Child Sonya Hartnett , 2007 single work novel
[Review] The Ghost's Child Anne Briggs , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , July vol. 22 no. 3 2007; (p. 42)

— Review of The Ghost's Child Sonya Hartnett , 2007 single work novel
Strangled by Success Rosemary Neill , 2007 single work biography
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30 June - 1 July 2007; (p. 6)
Across the Age Divide Penelope Davie , 2007 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 18 - 19 August 2007; (p. 26)
This column discusses the crossing of boundaries in reading and why adults should be able to enjoy reading children's and young adult titles.
From Loo Paper Draft to Award, Children's Author Is on a Roll Frances Atkinson , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 16 August 2008; (p. 3)
The Children's Book Council of Australia Judges' Report 2008 2008 single work column
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , August vol. 52 no. 3 2008; (p. 3 - 9)
CBCA Awards - Acceptance Speeches : Sonya Hartnett Sonya Hartnett , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 52 no. 4 2008; (p. 3)
Last amended 5 Jun 2020 10:59:08
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