AustLit

‘Drusilla Modjeska's The Orchard (Pan Macmillan, 1994) is a collection of essay -like works that combine history, autobiography, mythology and fiction. It was first published in a small hardback format, and its design, as well as its content, attracted attention from the outset. Drusilla Modjeska has written a number of works concerned with women's experiences, including Exiles at Home: Australian Women Writers 1925-1945 (1981), Poppy (1990), a fictionalised biography of the author's mother, and Stravinsky's Lunch (1999), a study of two Australian women artists. She has also edited or co -edited several anthologies of essays and a collection of poems, and has been actively involved in feminist issues and debate. The Orchard was written with the assistance of a Literature Board fellow- ship and a residency at the Varuna Writers Centre. The book's creation was also assisted by publisher and editor Hilary McPhee. Modjeska first worked with McPhee on Poppy at Penguin, before working with her again on The Orchard. Modjeska had originally brought the novel to McPhee Gribble before McPhee moved to Pan Macmillan in 1992.’(Introduction 185)