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'After years of living in the harsh Australian outback, Iris Bloom returns with her ailing husband to her hometown in the south. Old memories surface and begin to disturb and haunt her. Iris tries to make sense of her murky past through her writing. But she discovers that dangerous writing can sometimes have fatal consequences. Fearing she might reveal a dark secret they buried long ago, Iris’s family refuse to accept her back into the fold. After her death, Iris leaves her unpublished manuscript – dedicated to someone called Rose - in the hands of her solicitor. Iris’s letters are interwoven with her stories about intriguing but deeply troubled characters. Just what is fact and what is fiction in the stories Iris leaves behind? Why does this matter so? And who is Rose? Immensely readable, this psychological mystery is both emotionally shocking, but captivating until the end.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
An Air of Intertextuality
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , April vol. 24 no. 1 2020;
— Review of The Hard Seed 2018 single work novel 'The Hard Seed by Mary Pomfret is an intriguing novel – a blend of mystery and philosophy with a fair dose of literary allusion and floral metaphor stirred into the mix. It soon becomes obvious that one is reading multiple narratives containing casts of similar, yet different, characters with seemingly overlapping stories and generally dysfunctional relationships, particularly within their family circles. The theme of the outcast, or the ‘black sheep’, is apparent as family members gang up to ostracize one of their flock who dares to examine and write about life, and who they fear will expose family secrets.' (Introduction)
-
An Air of Intertextuality
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , April vol. 24 no. 1 2020;
— Review of The Hard Seed 2018 single work novel 'The Hard Seed by Mary Pomfret is an intriguing novel – a blend of mystery and philosophy with a fair dose of literary allusion and floral metaphor stirred into the mix. It soon becomes obvious that one is reading multiple narratives containing casts of similar, yet different, characters with seemingly overlapping stories and generally dysfunctional relationships, particularly within their family circles. The theme of the outcast, or the ‘black sheep’, is apparent as family members gang up to ostracize one of their flock who dares to examine and write about life, and who they fear will expose family secrets.' (Introduction)
