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From publisher's blurb: 'It is an extraordinary phenomenon of the twentieth century that, even though it is estimated that a romance novel is purchased every few seconds in the English-speaking world alone, romance writers and their readers - if not ignored completely - are denigrated by journalists, literary critics and feminists alike.
In From Australia with Love, Juliet Flesch sets out to reclaim this popular genre for its readers - and its writers - and in doing so she reflects more strongly than has been done before the perspective of the Australian reader. From Australia with Love is the first serious, book-length study of Australian romance fiction from 1950 to 2000.
The purpose of this book is not to examine the literary qualities of the Australian romance novel but to show that the blanket condemnation of Australia's most far-reaching literary product stigmatises and simplifies, sight unseen, a complex and varied phenomenon.'
Notes
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Dedication: 'This book is about romance, the great adventure of seeking and finding a life partner one loves and trusts. Much romance is about people taking a risk. This book looks at whether Australians see this differently; whether there is such a thing as "Australian romance". It was written at a time when what was Australian, or more often, un-Australian, was being vigorously contested. In the dying days of the last century and the first years of the twenty-first century, it seems as though Australians have become less willing to take a chance, to give others the benefit of the doubt and share the opportunities they enjoy themselves. I dedicate this book to my asylum-seeker friends - whether they are suffering in Australia's urban and desert camps or living on temporary protection and bridging visas, without their families, in government-induced uncertainty, poverty and anxiety. I also dedicate it to their supporters, who work so hard to show that not all Australians are prepared to turn their backs on suffering and injustice. May we all one day live in freedom in the Australia these novels celebrate, a land of compassion, humanity and hospitality towards newcomers who seek our protection.' [5]
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Based on the author's PhD thesis (University of Melbourne, 2002).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Foreword : Sold by the Millions
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. viii-xvi) -
Britishness and Australian Popular Fiction : From the Mid-Nineteenth to the Mid-Twentieth Centuries
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 46-66) 'The analysis offered here is [...], a panoptic perspective of the tangled skeins of literary imagination and imitation, gender and genre requirements, editorial control, market considerations and the sheer economics of the international book trade that knotted Australian popular literature into the cultural and economic fabric of the British empire.' (47) -
[Untitled]
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Script and Print , vol. 32 no. 2 2008; (p. 122-124)
— Review of From Australia with Love : A History of Modern Australian Popular Romance Novels 2004 single work criticism -
Rereading the Romance
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Contemporary Literature , Summer vol. 48 no. 2 2007; (p. 307-324)
— Review of From Australia with Love : A History of Modern Australian Popular Romance Novels 2004 single work criticism -
Untitled
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: Melbourne Historical Journal , vol. 33 no. 2005; (p. 75-77)
— Review of From Australia with Love : A History of Modern Australian Popular Romance Novels 2004 single work criticism
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Queen of Hearts
2004
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24-25 July 2004; (p. 13)
— Review of From Australia with Love : A History of Modern Australian Popular Romance Novels 2004 single work criticism -
In Short : Non-Fiction
2004
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 7-8 August 2004; (p. 13)
— Review of From Australia with Love : A History of Modern Australian Popular Romance Novels 2004 single work criticism -
The Snigger Factor
2004
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 264 2004; (p. 36)
— Review of From Australia with Love : A History of Modern Australian Popular Romance Novels 2004 single work criticism -
Feature Review
2004
single work
review
— Appears in: JAS Review of Books , October no. 28 2004;
— Review of From Australia with Love : A History of Modern Australian Popular Romance Novels 2004 single work criticism -
Untitled
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 22 no. 1 2005; (p. 119-120)
— Review of From Australia with Love : A History of Modern Australian Popular Romance Novels 2004 single work criticism -
Britishness and Australian Popular Fiction : From the Mid-Nineteenth to the Mid-Twentieth Centuries
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 46-66) 'The analysis offered here is [...], a panoptic perspective of the tangled skeins of literary imagination and imitation, gender and genre requirements, editorial control, market considerations and the sheer economics of the international book trade that knotted Australian popular literature into the cultural and economic fabric of the British empire.' (47) -
Foreword : Sold by the Millions
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. viii-xvi)