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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The Orphan Gunner is an unconventional romance set in bomber command in Lincolnshire during the Second World War.
Evelyn and Olive grew up together in the Canabolas Valley near Orange. They are in England at the outbreak of war: Evelyn as a pilot in the Air Transport Auxiliary, Olive in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. They're joined by Evelyn's brother Duncan, a novice gunner in Lancaster L-Love, flying bombing raids over Germany.
The raids take their toll on the crew, and the two women are drawn into a plot involving disguise and mistaken identity, to get the exhausted Duncan out of service.
The Orphan Gunner explores the seductions of passing, the licence granted by risk, and the selflessness - and selfishness - of sacrifice. The relationship between the two women is portrayed with subtlety and warmth, and an extraordinary sense of historical detail which brings its wartime setting vividly to life. (Publisher's blurb)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also large print.
Works about this Work
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A Uniform Affair : Tiffany Lowana Meets New Author Sara Knox
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: Lesbians on the Loose , January vol. 19 no. 1 2008; (p. 28) -
Private Desires
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Women's Book Review , vol. 19 no. 2 2008; (p. 16-18)
— Review of The Orphan Gunner 2007 single work novel -
On the Nearness of Distant Things
2008
single work
essay
— Appears in: Heat , no. 16 (New Series) 2008; (p. 165-182) Sara Knox details the research behind Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety and her own book, The Orphan Gunner. -
Nuance and Ambivalence
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 190 2008; (p. 84-85)
— Review of A Curious Intimacy 2007 single work novel ; The Orphan Gunner 2007 single work novel -
Lesbian Love on the Home Front
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 9-10 February 2008; (p. 32)
— Review of The Orphan Gunner 2007 single work novel
-
Strong-Willed Debut Evokes Muted Heroism
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 November 2007; (p. 13)
— Review of The Orphan Gunner 2007 single work novel -
Fiction
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 10 November 2007; (p. 24)
— Review of The Orphan Gunner 2007 single work novel -
The Art of Literary Flirting
2007-2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January no. 297 2007-2008; (p. 32)
— Review of The Orphan Gunner 2007 single work novel -
Lesbian Love on the Home Front
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 9-10 February 2008; (p. 32)
— Review of The Orphan Gunner 2007 single work novel -
Nuance and Ambivalence
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 190 2008; (p. 84-85)
— Review of A Curious Intimacy 2007 single work novel ; The Orphan Gunner 2007 single work novel -
On the Nearness of Distant Things
2008
single work
essay
— Appears in: Heat , no. 16 (New Series) 2008; (p. 165-182) Sara Knox details the research behind Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety and her own book, The Orphan Gunner. -
A Uniform Affair : Tiffany Lowana Meets New Author Sara Knox
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: Lesbians on the Loose , January vol. 19 no. 1 2008; (p. 28)
Awards
- 2009 winner Asher Literary Award Joint winner with Shirley Walker, The Ghost at the Wedding.
- 2008 shortlisted The Age Book of the Year Award — Fiction Prize
- 2008 shortlisted South East Asia and South Pacific Region — Best First Book
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Lincolnshire,
cEngland,ccUnited Kingdom (UK),cWestern Europe, Europe,