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person or book cover
Image courtesy of Pan Macmillan
y separately published work icon Pearl in a Cage single work   novel   historical fiction  
Is part of Woody Creek Joy Dettman , 2009 series - author novel (number 1 in series)
Issue Details: First known date: 2009... 2009 Pearl in a Cage
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'On a balmy midsummer's evening in 1923, a young woman - foreign, dishevelled and heavily pregnant - is found unconscious just off the railway tracks in the tiny logging community of Woody Creek.

The town midwife, Gertrude Foote, is roused from her bed when the woman is brought to her door. Try as she might, Gertrude is unable to save her, but the baby lives.

When no relatives come forth to claim the infant, Gertrude's daughter Amber - who has recently lost a son in childbirth - and her husband Norman take the child in. In the ensuing weeks, Norman becomes convinced that God has sent the baby to their door, and in an act of reckless compassion and lonely desperation, he names the baby Jennifer and registers her in place of his son.

Loved by some but scorned by more, including her stepmother and sister, Jenny survives her childhood and grows into an exquisite and talented young woman. But who were her parents?

Spanning two momentous decades and capturing rural Australia's complex and mysterious heart, Pearl in a Cage is the unputdownable new novel by one of our most talented storytellers.' (From the publisher's website.)

Notes

  • Dedication:

    Dedicated to my Mum. She's dancing the Charleston in high heels, singing 'Ramona' - out of tune. She's sweeping up stardust to powder her nose, playing hide and go seek with the moon.

    To Don, who read the first draft of Pearl in a Cage as the pages came hot from my printer, and to Kay Readdy, insightful friend and trusted early reader, I offer my heartfelt thank you.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Pan Macmillan Australia , 2009 .
      person or book cover
      Image courtesy of Pan Macmillan
      Extent: 565p.
      Note/s:
      • 'Great Women's Weekly read' (Cover)
      • Published October 1st 2009
      ISBN: 9781405039574 (pbk.)

Other Formats

  • Sound recording.
  • Large print.

Works about this Work

Fiction Cameron Woodhead , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 7 November 2009; (p. 26)

— Review of Pearl in a Cage Joy Dettman , 2009 single work novel
[Review] Pearl in a Cage Hannah Francis , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , October vol. 89 no. 3 2009; (p. 30)

— Review of Pearl in a Cage Joy Dettman , 2009 single work novel
[Review] Pearl in a Cage Hannah Francis , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , October vol. 89 no. 3 2009; (p. 30)

— Review of Pearl in a Cage Joy Dettman , 2009 single work novel
Fiction Cameron Woodhead , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 7 November 2009; (p. 26)

— Review of Pearl in a Cage Joy Dettman , 2009 single work novel
Last amended 10 Sep 2020 08:46:09
Settings:
  • Rural,
  • 1920s
  • 1930s
  • 1940s
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