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image of person or book cover 6122967263850773386.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living single work   novel   historical fiction  
Alternative title: The Cultivator
Issue Details: First known date: 2003... 2003 Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'It is 1934, the Great War is long over and the next is yet to come. It is a brief time of optimism and advancement.

'Billowing dust and information, the government 'Better Farming Train' slides through the wheat fields and small towns of Australia, bringing city experts and advice to those already living on the land. The train is on a crusade to persuade the country that science holds the answers and that productivity is patriotic.

'Amongst the swaying cars full of cows, pigs and wheat, an unlikely seduction occurs between Robert Pettergree, a man with an unusual taste for soil, and Jean Finnegan, a talented young seamstress with a hunger for knowledge. In an atmosphere of heady scientific idealism they settle in the impoverished Mallee with the ambition of proving that science can transform the land.

'With failing crops and the threat of a new World War looming, Robert and Jean are forced to confront each other, the community they have destroyed, and the impact of progress on an ancient and fragile landscape.

'Erotically charged, and shot through with humour and a quiet wisdom, this haunting first novel evokes the Australian landscape in all its stark beauty and vividly captures the hope and disappointment of an era.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Notes

  • For T. P. S., T. E. S. & G. R. T. and with heartfelt thanks to K. J. S.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 2003
    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Picador , 2005 .
      image of person or book cover 6122967263850773386.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 256p.
      ISBN: 0330421913
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Scribner ,
      2006 .
      image of person or book cover 1048303970396920639.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 1v.p.
      Edition info: 1st Scribner ed.
      ISBN: 9780743286374, 0743286375
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Picador ,
      2006 .
      image of person or book cover 3288910601568672015.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 255p.
      ISBN: 0330437763
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Scribner ,
      2007 .
      image of person or book cover 7386389598842554397.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: vi, 224p.p.
      ISBN: 9780743286381, 0743286383
    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Picador , 2012 .
      image of person or book cover 3326552441361051872.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 1v.p.
      Edition info: Picador 40th anniversary edition
      Note/s:
      • Published 1 March 2012.
      ISBN: 9781743349069
Alternative title: Regels voor een wetenschappelijk verantwoord leven : roman
Language: Dutch
    • Amsterdam,
      c
      Netherlands,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      De Arbeiderspers ,
      2007 .
      image of person or book cover 245245976868273628.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 190p.p.
      ISBN: 9789029565097, 9029565098

Works about this Work

Agricultural Catastrophes : Revising Settler Belonging and the Farming Novel in Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living Jack Kirne , 2020 single work criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 20 no. 1 2020;

'This article details how Carrie Tiffany’s 2005 novel, Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living poses a series of significant challenges to both non-Indigenous Australian belonging and the teleology of the settler-colonial farm novel. I argue that Tiffany provides a conceptual space for thinking the history of Australia differently, while responding to the farm novel that emerged with different traditions in Australasia, North America and southern Africa in the first half of the 20th century (Hughes-d’Aeth 207). Specifically, I examine how Tiffany deploys agricultural catastrophes to destabilise the ideology of progress as a technology for claiming land under the dictum of proper use, consequently bringing the justifications for colonial domination into contest.' (Publication abstract)

Explainer : 'Solarpunk', or How to Be an Optimistic Radical Jennifer Hamilton , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 20 July 2017;

'Punks (of the 70s and 80s kind) were not known for their optimism. Quite the opposite in fact. Raging against the establishment in various ways, there was “no future” because, according to the Sex Pistols, punks are “the poison / In your human machine / We’re the future / Your future”. To be punk, was, by definition, to resist the future.

'In contrast, the most basic definition of solarpunk — offered by musician and photographer Jay Springett — is that it is a movement in speculative fiction, art, fashion and activism' (Introduction)

Foreshadowing Belinda Jeffrey , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: Writing Queensland , February no. 204 2011; (p. 8-9)
Undercover Susan Wyndham , 2007 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15-16 September 2007; (p. 30)
A column canvassing current literary news including brief reports on the cover design a new edition of Carrie Tiffany's Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living and the launch of Richard Woolcott's Undiplomatic Activities.
Q and A : Carrie Tiffany 2007 single work interview
— Appears in: The Age , 8 January 2007; (p. 3)
Harvesting a Taste for Living Off the Land Judith Armstrong , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 13 August 2005; (p. 5)

— Review of Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living Carrie Tiffany , 2003 single work novel
The Secret Life of OZ Peter Pierce , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 23 August vol. 123 no. 6484 2005; (p. 68-69)

— Review of Sandstone Stephen Lacey , 2005 single work novel ; Road Story Julienne Van Loon , 2004 single work novel ; Behind the Moon Hsu-Ming Teo , 2005 single work novel ; The Grave at Thu Le Catherine Cole , 2005 single work novel ; Fivestar Mardi McConnochie , 2005 single work novel ; Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living Carrie Tiffany , 2003 single work novel
A Fine Crop Michelle Griffin , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 274 2005; (p. 53-54)

— Review of Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living Carrie Tiffany , 2003 single work novel ; Road Story Julienne Van Loon , 2004 single work novel
Powerful Characters Drive The Better Farming Train On A Tour Through Australia's Agricultural Heritage Christopher Bantick , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 31 December 2005; (p. 6-7)

— Review of Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living Carrie Tiffany , 2003 single work novel
Shortlist Brooke Davis , 2006 single work review
— Appears in: Eureka Street , January-February vol. 16 no. 1 2006; (p. 47)

— Review of Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living Carrie Tiffany , 2003 single work novel
Breakthrough at Tiffany's Jason Steger , 2004 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 29 May 2004; (p. 6)
A Tiffany Epiphany Jason Steger , 2005 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 26 February 2005; (p. 6)
Breakfast at Tiffany's Jason Steger , 2005 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 26 February 2005; (p. 6)
Lust in the Mallee Dust Rosemary Neill , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23-24 July 2005; (p. 12-13)
Tiffany's Natural Order Michelle Griffin , 2005 single work biography
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 7 August 2005; (p. 20)
Last amended 13 Jul 2021 12:38:25
Settings:
  • Mallee,
  • Wycheproof, Charlton - Donald - Birchip - Woomelang area, North West Victoria, Victoria,
  • 1934
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