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y separately published work icon Mr Wigg single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2013... 2013 Mr Wigg
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A charming and happy story akin to drinking homemade lemonade while sitting on a verandah on a hot day.

It's the summer of 1970, not far from the stone fruit capital of New South Wales, where Mr Wigg lives alone on what is left of his family farm. Mrs Wigg has been gone a few years now but he thinks of her every day. He thinks of his daughter, too.

Mr Wigg spends his days tending his magnificent orchard, harvesting the fruits of his labours and, when it's on, listening to the cricket. Things are changing though, with Australia and England playing a one-day match, and his new neighbours, the Hazletts, planting grapes for wine.

His son is on at him to move into town - it's true a few little things are starting to go wrong every now and then - but Mr Wigg has his fruit trees, chooks, and garden to care for. His grandchildren visit often: to cook, eat, and hear his old stories. And there's a special project he has to finish.' (Publisher's blurb)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Hachette Australia , 2013 .
      image of person or book cover 509770620162895861.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 300p.
      Reprinted: 26 Apr 2017
      Note/s:
      • Published July 2013
      ISBN: 9780733630194 (pbk.) :, 9780733630347 (ebk), 9780733637841

Works about this Work

Ironbark and Stone: Place and Belonging in the Nature Novels of Inga Simpson Jane Frank , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: Queensland Review , December vol. 24 no. 2 2017; (p. 229-241)

'This article discusses Sunshine Coast writer Inga Simpson's nature writing in three recent novels, Mr Wigg (2013), Nest(2014b) and Where the Trees Were (2016c). It addresses Simpson's self-categorisation as a nature writer, and shows how the recurrent motif of sacred trees allows three introspective protagonists to reach new understandings of universal themes: loss of love and innocence, ageing, inheritance, childlessness, sexuality, death, ancient cultures, cultural integrity and preservation of the environment. The article considers Simpson's ‘anti-Gothic’ approach to landscape in her novels, yet also shows how her ‘realist’ depictions of place evoke unease surrounding the issue of white belonging in Australia. Simpson's metaphoric self-identification with trees, particularly the Australian ironbark, is pivotal to the quiet power of her fiction's exploration of belonging in the Australian landscape.' (Abstract)

Costa Georgiadis 2013 single work interview
— Appears in: Good Reading , September 2013; (p. 9-11)
Review : Mr Wigg Barbara Baker , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Good Reading , July 2013; (p. 25)

— Review of Mr Wigg Inga Simpson , 2013 single work novel
Small Publishers Make Big Deal of Books That Slipped Under the Radar Top Books You've Probably Never Read Linda Morris , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 14-15 December 2013; (p. 13) The Age , 14 December 2013; (p. 3)
An Authentic Destination Inga Simpson , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: Writing Queensland , 13 October no. 234 2013; (p. 6-7)
A Sense of Place Fran Metcalf , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 22-23 June 2013; (p. 19)

— Review of Mr Wigg Inga Simpson , 2013 single work novel
Review : Mr Wigg Barbara Baker , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Good Reading , July 2013; (p. 25)

— Review of Mr Wigg Inga Simpson , 2013 single work novel
An Authentic Destination Inga Simpson , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: Writing Queensland , 13 October no. 234 2013; (p. 6-7)
Small Publishers Make Big Deal of Books That Slipped Under the Radar Top Books You've Probably Never Read Linda Morris , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 14-15 December 2013; (p. 13) The Age , 14 December 2013; (p. 3)
Costa Georgiadis 2013 single work interview
— Appears in: Good Reading , September 2013; (p. 9-11)
Ironbark and Stone: Place and Belonging in the Nature Novels of Inga Simpson Jane Frank , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: Queensland Review , December vol. 24 no. 2 2017; (p. 229-241)

'This article discusses Sunshine Coast writer Inga Simpson's nature writing in three recent novels, Mr Wigg (2013), Nest(2014b) and Where the Trees Were (2016c). It addresses Simpson's self-categorisation as a nature writer, and shows how the recurrent motif of sacred trees allows three introspective protagonists to reach new understandings of universal themes: loss of love and innocence, ageing, inheritance, childlessness, sexuality, death, ancient cultures, cultural integrity and preservation of the environment. The article considers Simpson's ‘anti-Gothic’ approach to landscape in her novels, yet also shows how her ‘realist’ depictions of place evoke unease surrounding the issue of white belonging in Australia. Simpson's metaphoric self-identification with trees, particularly the Australian ironbark, is pivotal to the quiet power of her fiction's exploration of belonging in the Australian landscape.' (Abstract)

Last amended 28 Oct 2020 15:24:52
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