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'Night Street is the passionate story of a young painter, Clarice Beckett, who defies society's strict conventions and indifferent art critics alike and leads an intense private and professional life. With her extraordinary talent for making simple city and seascapes haunting and mysteriously revelatory, Clarice paints prolifically and lives largely, overcoming the seemingly confined existence as the spinster daughter in the parental home.
Night Street began with Thornell's first encounter with the paintings of Melbourne artist Clarice Beckett (1887-1935) at the Art Gallery of South Australia. The subtle power of Clarice's highly atmospheric, enigmatic landscapes enabled her to imagine Clarice's inner life and shape an extraordinary novel.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Dedication: In respectful acknowledgement of Clarice Beckett, whose art and life drew me into this dream.
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Epigraph: To be alone seems at once so natural and yet so un-natural. I've never understood it.
-Daniel Keene, Two Shanks.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Kristel Thorell : Night Street
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , December 2012;
— Review of Night Street 2009 single work novel -
Future in Safe Hands
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 21- 22 May 2011; (p. 28-29) -
The Ritual of Vintage
2011
single work
autobiography
— Appears in: Meanjin , [Autumn] vol. 70 no. 1 2011; (p. 112-118) -
In the Darkness, Painting
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Women's Book Review , vol. 22 no. 2 2010;
— Review of Night Street 2009 single work novel -
Great Expectations
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: Australian Author , December vol. 42 no. 3 2010; (p. 6-9)
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First Strokes of Artistry
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 28 August 2010; (p. 23)
— Review of Night Street 2009 single work novel ; Utopian Man 2009 single work novel -
Perspectives on History
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 September 2010; (p. 20-21)
— Review of Night Street 2009 single work novel ; Utopian Man 2009 single work novel -
History Made in Melbourne
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 4 September 2010; (p. 20-21)
— Review of Utopian Man 2009 single work novel ; Night Street 2009 single work novel -
Odd Lives Laid Bare
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , September vol. 5 no. 8 2010; (p. 17)
— Review of Utopian Man 2009 single work novel ; Night Street 2009 single work novel ; The Vintage and the Gleaning 2008 single work novel ; Milk Fever 2010 single work novel -
Cover Notes
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 12 September 2010; (p. 21)
— Review of Night Street 2009 single work novel ; Bittersweet 2010 single work novel -
Historical Focus for Vogel Winners
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 18 September 2009; (p. 20) -
Colourful Characters Lead Authors to Vogel Award
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 18 September 2009; (p. 6) -
Inside the Australian Vogel Literary Award
2010
single work
interview
— Appears in: Newswrite : The NSW Writers' Centre Magazine , June/July no. 191 2010; (p. 6-7) Kristel Thornell interviews Cate Kennedy about the judging process for the Australian / Vogel National Literary Award (for an unpublished manuscript). In turn, Kennedy interviews Thornell about her entry in the 2009 Vogel award. -
Haunted Tales
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Overland , Summer no. 201 2010; (p. 38-41) 'If it is possible to assess the current state of Australian literature through a reading of four novels published in September and October 2010...then I'd say Australian fiction is haunted, preoccupied with the past'. p. 38 -
Great Expectations
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: Australian Author , December vol. 42 no. 3 2010; (p. 6-9)
Awards
- 2011 winner Kibble Literary Awards — Nita May Dobbie Award
- 2011 joint winner The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year
- 2011 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — UTS Award for New Writing
- 2011 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
- 2010 winner The Fellowship of Australian Writers Victoria Inc. National Literary Awards — Barbara Ramsden Award Awarded to the author, Kristel Thornell and the publisher's editor, Clara Finlay.