Five Acre Virgin And Other Stories

by Elizabeth Jolley

During her lifetime, Elizabeth Jolley established a formidable international reputation for her unique combination of unsentimental realism and original humour. Five Acre Virgin and Other Stories brings together two highly acclaimed collections of Jolley's short fiction in a new edition. Five Acre Virgin and The Travelling Entertainer introduced Jolley as a major Australian talent and she went on to win numerous awards, including the Age Book of the Year Award (three times) and the Miles Franklin Award. Five Acre Virgin and Other Stories includes an insightful foreword by Jolley's long-time agent and friend, Caroline Lurie, and is a great introduction to an unusual and celebrated artist.

91 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Monica Elizabeth Jolley was an award-winning writer who settled in Western Australia in the late 1950s. She was 53 years old when her first book was published, and she went on to publish fifteen novels (including an autobiographical trilogy), four short story collections, and three non-fiction books, publishing well into her 70s and achieving significant critical acclaim. She was also a pioneer of creative writing teaching in Australia, counting many well known writers such as Tim Winton among her students. Her novels explore alienated characters and the nature of loneliness and entrapment.

Honours:
1987: Western Australian Citizen of the Year
1988: Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to literature
1989: Canada/Australia Literary Award
1997: Australian Living Treasure

Reviews

[Nadia King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sharp, dark and illuminating writing.