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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Written with unerring skill and insight, The Dyehouse is a masterly portrait of postwar Australia, when industrial work was radically transformed by new technologies and society changed with it. Mena Calthorpe—who herself worked in a textile factory—takes us inside this world, vividly bringing to life the people of an inner-Sydney company in the mid-1950s: the bosses, middlemen and underlings; their dramatic struggles and their loves.
'This powerful and affecting novel was first published in 1961, and is the hundredth book in the Text Classics series. The new edition comes with an introduction by Fiona McFarlane, acclaimed author of The Night Guest.' (Publication summary : Text Classic 2016)
Contents
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The Art of Work,
single work
criticism
'I found my second-hand copy of The Dyehouse among the glorious chaos of Gould's Book Arcade in Sydney's Newtown. I had never heard of Mena Calthorpe, but after reading the first line I knew I'd buy it: 'Miss Merton came to the Dyehouse one windy afternoon when smoke from the railway-yards drifted darkly over Macdonaldtown.' (Introduction)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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NRB Editors on Their Favourite Books of 2016
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , December 2016;
— Review of From the Outer : Footy Like You've Never Heard It 2016 anthology autobiography prose ; The Natural Way of Things 2015 single work novel ; An Isolated Incident 2016 single work novel ; The Dyehouse 1961 single work novel ; The Midnight Watch 2016 single work novel -
Factory Workers Are Living Cogs in the Machine
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 19-20 November 2016; (p. 29)
— Review of The Dyehouse 1961 single work novel -
Labour in Vain: the Forgotten Novels of Australia’s Radical Women
2015
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , June 2015; 'Not a month goes by in academia or in literary culture without a debate about Australia’s literary canon and calls for a more inclusive list. Undoubtedly our canon should include more voices from women, the LGBTI community and Indigenous Australians. But I’d like to throw forward another undervalued and underrepresented genre: women’s political agency and activism – and this year might be a good time to acknowledge it.' (Author's introduction) -
Towards a Poetics of Working Class Writing
1993
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southern Review , March vol. 26 no. 1 1993; (p. 86-100) -
Timely Reissue
1983
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 12 March 1983; (p. 13)
— Review of The Dyehouse 1961 single work novel
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Recent Novels
1962
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 23 1962; (p. 55-57)
— Review of La Bora 1961 single work novel ; The Scarlet Blossom 1961 single work novel ; The Dyehouse 1961 single work novel ; Low Company 1961 single work novel ; The Sun on the Stubble 1961 single work children's fiction ; The Fringe Dwellers 1961 single work novel ; A Stranger and Afraid 1961 single work novel ; If Golde Rust 1961 single work novel -
Undefeated Underdogs
1961
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 14 October vol. 82 no. 4261 1961; (p. 36-37)
— Review of Don't Tie Me Down 1961 single work novel ; The Dyehouse 1961 single work novel -
Fiction Chronicle
1961
single work
review
— Appears in: Meanjin Quarterly , December vol. 20 no. 4 1961; (p. 474-491)
— Review of The Dyehouse 1961 single work novel -
"The Dyehouse"
1962
single work
review
— Appears in: Realist Writer , March no. 8 1962; (p. 16)
— Review of The Dyehouse 1961 single work novel -
Untitled
1962
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , Autumn vol. 6 no. 2 1962; (p. 81-82)
— Review of The Dyehouse 1961 single work novel -
Towards a Poetics of Working Class Writing
1993
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southern Review , March vol. 26 no. 1 1993; (p. 86-100) -
Labour in Vain: the Forgotten Novels of Australia’s Radical Women
2015
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , June 2015; 'Not a month goes by in academia or in literary culture without a debate about Australia’s literary canon and calls for a more inclusive list. Undoubtedly our canon should include more voices from women, the LGBTI community and Indigenous Australians. But I’d like to throw forward another undervalued and underrepresented genre: women’s political agency and activism – and this year might be a good time to acknowledge it.' (Author's introduction)
- Sydney, New South Wales,
