AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Meet Ella Canfield, highly qualified evolutionary biologist. Attractive, if a little serious-looking in those heavy glasses—but then she's about to put her career on the line. Dr Canfield is seeking funding for a highly unorthodox research project. She wants to prove that an extinct animal still roams in one of Australia's most popular national parks.
'Meet Daniel Metcalf, good-looking, expensively dishevelled millionaire. Quite witty but far too rich to be taken seriously. He heads the Metcalf Trust, which donates money to offbeat scientific research projects. He has a personal interest in animals that don't exist.
'Problem number one: There is no such person as Dr Ella Canfield.
'Problem number two: Della Gilmore, professional con artist, has never met anyone like Daniel Metcalf before.
'Someone is going to take a fall.
'A sparkling, sexy read from the author of Addition, Fall Girl is a story about passion and loyalty, deceit and integrity, and the importance of believing in things that don't exist.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
-
Reading Group Guide available through the Text Publishing website.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Braille.
Works about this Work
-
The Matter of Fact : Science and Identity in Contemporary Australian Literature
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , November no. 65 2019;'To pursue ‘knowledge per se’, to unlock ‘the secrets of the organism’ and to act as an explorer ‘not of untrodden lands, perhaps, but of the mysteries of nature’—these are the reasons why the naturalist William Caldwell travels to Australia in Nicholas Drayson’s 2007 novel Love and the Platypus (9, 59, 144). Caldwell’s research is ‘purely platypusical’ (98): he aims to determine whether the platypus really does lay eggs. The ‘spirit of discovery—that was why he was here, was it not?’ (3) The spirit of discovery and the obsessive nature of his scientific enquiry appear to characterise Drayson’s protagonist as a scientist. However, as I hope to show in this paper, the definition of the literary scientist-protagonist—or its stereotype, in the words of Roslynn Haynes—is open for debate when it comes to the practice of science in fiction. To prove my point, I investigate how the practice of science in contemporary Australian fiction intertwines with identity narratives. As shown in the following, these narratives revolve around the reasons and ambitions of fictional protagonists to engage with science.' (Introduction)
-
Science/Literature: The Interface
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , November no. 65 2019; 'This special section of the Australian Humanities Review emerged from the Literary Studies Convention at the Australian National University from 3-7 July 2018. As a conference which brought together Australia’s four major literary studies associations, it showcased a range of approaches to literary scholarship to discuss ‘the literary as an interface between different forms of knowledge and processes of knowledge formation, looking at questions of how and through what means the literary is communicated, represented, negotiated, and remade’. One of the approaches prompted by this theme was the ways in which literature can translate, communicate, or re-imagine scientific knowledge. This seemed particularly apt given that one of the definitions of ‘interface’ is ‘an apparatus designed to connect two scientific instruments so that they can be operated jointly’ (Oxford English Dictionary), for example, two different computer operating systems. In other words, the interface is the meeting place which allows translation to occur.' (Introduction) -
Eight Great Australian Fictional Scientists Worth Reading about
2019
single work
— Appears in: The Conversation , 12 February 2019;'Australian scientists have led many crucial scientific breakthroughs – from the manufacturing and processing of penicillin, to the first in-vitro fertilisation pregnancy. Yet there is still a need for science to be more widely appreciated in our broader culture.' (Introduction)
-
Book Review – Fall Girl by Toni Jordan
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Booklover Book Reviews 2011;
— Review of Fall Girl 2010 single work novel -
After the Fall
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 22 January 2011; (p. 21)
— Review of Fall Girl 2010 single work novel
-
Fiction Reviews
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 16 - 17 October 2010; (p. 24)
— Review of Fall Girl 2010 single work novel -
New Tricks When Girl Meets Boy
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 23 October 2010; (p. 25)
— Review of Fall Girl 2010 single work novel -
Untitled
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , October vol. 90 no. 3 2010; (p. 28)
— Review of Fall Girl 2010 single work novel -
What Price Mr Right?
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30-31 October 2010; (p. 22)
— Review of Fall Girl 2010 single work novel -
Review of the Week
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 31 October 2010; (p. 20)
— Review of Fall Girl 2010 single work novel -
There's a Sting in the Tale
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 14 November 2010; (p. 6-7) -
Eight Great Australian Fictional Scientists Worth Reading about
2019
single work
— Appears in: The Conversation , 12 February 2019;'Australian scientists have led many crucial scientific breakthroughs – from the manufacturing and processing of penicillin, to the first in-vitro fertilisation pregnancy. Yet there is still a need for science to be more widely appreciated in our broader culture.' (Introduction)
-
Science/Literature: The Interface
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , November no. 65 2019; 'This special section of the Australian Humanities Review emerged from the Literary Studies Convention at the Australian National University from 3-7 July 2018. As a conference which brought together Australia’s four major literary studies associations, it showcased a range of approaches to literary scholarship to discuss ‘the literary as an interface between different forms of knowledge and processes of knowledge formation, looking at questions of how and through what means the literary is communicated, represented, negotiated, and remade’. One of the approaches prompted by this theme was the ways in which literature can translate, communicate, or re-imagine scientific knowledge. This seemed particularly apt given that one of the definitions of ‘interface’ is ‘an apparatus designed to connect two scientific instruments so that they can be operated jointly’ (Oxford English Dictionary), for example, two different computer operating systems. In other words, the interface is the meeting place which allows translation to occur.' (Introduction) -
The Matter of Fact : Science and Identity in Contemporary Australian Literature
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , November no. 65 2019;'To pursue ‘knowledge per se’, to unlock ‘the secrets of the organism’ and to act as an explorer ‘not of untrodden lands, perhaps, but of the mysteries of nature’—these are the reasons why the naturalist William Caldwell travels to Australia in Nicholas Drayson’s 2007 novel Love and the Platypus (9, 59, 144). Caldwell’s research is ‘purely platypusical’ (98): he aims to determine whether the platypus really does lay eggs. The ‘spirit of discovery—that was why he was here, was it not?’ (3) The spirit of discovery and the obsessive nature of his scientific enquiry appear to characterise Drayson’s protagonist as a scientist. However, as I hope to show in this paper, the definition of the literary scientist-protagonist—or its stereotype, in the words of Roslynn Haynes—is open for debate when it comes to the practice of science in fiction. To prove my point, I investigate how the practice of science in contemporary Australian fiction intertwines with identity narratives. As shown in the following, these narratives revolve around the reasons and ambitions of fictional protagonists to engage with science.' (Introduction)
Awards
- Victoria,