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y separately published work icon The Railwayman's Wife single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2013... 2013 The Railwayman's Wife
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'In a small town on the land's edge, in the strange space at a war's end, a widow, a poet and a doctor each try to find their own peace, and their own new story. In Thirroul, in 1948, people chase their dreams through the books in the railway's library. Anikka Lachlan searches for solace after her life is destroyed by a single random act. Roy McKinnon, who found poetry in the mess of war, has lost his words and his hope. Frank Draper is trapped by the guilt of those his treatment and care failed on their first day of freedom. All three struggle with the same question: how now to be alive.' (Publisher's blurb)

Notes

  • Epigraph:

    It's not what we forget

    But what was never known we most regret

    Discovery of

    -Stephen Edgar

  • Dedication: For Les Hay

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2013 .
      person or book cover
      Image courtesy of Allen & Unwin
      Extent: 307p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 1st April 2013
      ISBN: 9781743314449 (pbk.)
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Washington Square Press ,
      2013 .
      image of person or book cover 8125185011801857100.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 269p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 27th December 2016
      ISBN: 9781501128660
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Atria Books ,
      2016 .
      image of person or book cover 8776480414743090268.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 288p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 5 April 2015
      ISBN: 9781501112171
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Two Roads ,
      2018 .
      image of person or book cover 3247657787153328058.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 336p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 11 January 2018.
      ISBN: 9781473676480, 1473676487
Alternative title: La biblioteca sull'oceano
Language: Italian
    • Milan,
      c
      Italy,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Sperling & Kupfer ,
      2017 .
      image of person or book cover 5041868347552520588.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 315p.p.
      ISBN: 9788820061319, 8820061317

Other Formats

  • Large print.
  • Sound recording.
  • Braille.

Works about this Work

The New Historical Novel : Putting Mid-twentieth-century Australia into Perspective Nicholas Birns , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Commonwealth : Essays and Studies , Autumn vol. 41 no. 1 2018; (p. 7-18)

'This article argues that, since 2004 or so, a new kind of Australian historical novel has emerged among practitioners of literary fiction, one concerned with the mid-twentieth century. This new historical fiction has been characterized by an aesthetic stringency and self-consciousness. Though Steven Carroll and Ashley Hay will be the principal twenty-first-century writers examined, reference will also be made to several other writers including Carrie Tiffany, Charlotte Wood, Sofie Laguna, and to the later work of Peter Carey. In all these contemporary books, technology plays a major role in defining the twentieth century as seen historically.'  (Publication abstract)

 

Nicolette Stasko Reviews The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane and The Railwayman’s Wife by Ashley Hay Nicolette Stasko , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: Long Paddock , vol. 74 no. 1 2014;

— Review of The Night Guest Fiona McFarlane , 2013 single work novel ; The Railwayman's Wife Ashley Hay , 2013 single work novel
A Pair of Ragged Claws Stephen Romei , 2014 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 18-19 October 2014; (p. 17)
Brisbane Writers the Last Word in Talent Sally Browne , 2014 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 1 May 2014; (p. 50)
As if the Sea Curved Up Gretchen Shirm , 2013- single work review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , May 2013;

— Review of The Railwayman's Wife Ashley Hay , 2013 single work novel
Hearts Break and Mend as a Widow Comes to Terms with Loss Geordie Williamson , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30 March 2013; (p. 18)

— Review of The Railwayman's Wife Ashley Hay , 2013 single work novel
Untitled Meredith Lewin , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 5 May 2013; (p. 13)

— Review of The Railwayman's Wife Ashley Hay , 2013 single work novel
Seeing Things Differently Patrick Allington , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 351 2013;

— Review of The Railwayman's Wife Ashley Hay , 2013 single work novel
Well Read Rick Sullivan , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 23 March 2013; (p. 30)

— Review of The Railwayman's Wife Ashley Hay , 2013 single work novel
As if the Sea Curved Up Gretchen Shirm , 2013- single work review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , May 2013;

— Review of The Railwayman's Wife Ashley Hay , 2013 single work novel
Tracks of Our Lives Phil Brown , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 23-24 March 2013; (p. 18)
Interview : Ashley Hay Caroline Baum (interviewer), 2013 single work interview
— Appears in: The Age , 25 May 2013; (p. 28) The Sydney Morning Herald , 11-12 May 2013; (p. 28-29) The Canberra Times , 11 May 2013; (p. 19)
Brisbane Writers the Last Word in Talent Sally Browne , 2014 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 1 May 2014; (p. 50)
A Pair of Ragged Claws Stephen Romei , 2014 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 18-19 October 2014; (p. 17)
The New Historical Novel : Putting Mid-twentieth-century Australia into Perspective Nicholas Birns , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Commonwealth : Essays and Studies , Autumn vol. 41 no. 1 2018; (p. 7-18)

'This article argues that, since 2004 or so, a new kind of Australian historical novel has emerged among practitioners of literary fiction, one concerned with the mid-twentieth century. This new historical fiction has been characterized by an aesthetic stringency and self-consciousness. Though Steven Carroll and Ashley Hay will be the principal twenty-first-century writers examined, reference will also be made to several other writers including Carrie Tiffany, Charlotte Wood, Sofie Laguna, and to the later work of Peter Carey. In all these contemporary books, technology plays a major role in defining the twentieth century as seen historically.'  (Publication abstract)

 

Last amended 10 Mar 2020 16:55:16
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  • Thirroul, Wombarra - Bulli area, Wollongong area, Illawarra, South Coast, New South Wales,
  • 1948
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