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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'In Australia in the 1840s, the lives of two very different women intersect. Ellis MacRorie is shipped to Victoria from her Scottish homeland by her bankrupt father; Leerpeen Weelan, her Aboriginal servant known as Louisa, has lost her tribe in a bloody act of violence.
'Forced to marry a man she does not love, and isolated from all society, Ellis is resigned to a solitary life on the remote Western District homestead of Strathcarron. After the tragic death of two babies, she is ready is give up altogether. Although Louisa has endured dispossession and the loss of her own family, she becomes a steadfast source of guidance, friendship and strength for Ellis. When the American Romantic landscape painter, sketcher and collector Sanford P. Hart comes to stay at Strathcarron, the two women are transformed forever - in both enriching and devastating measures.
'One hundred and fifty years later, ambitious assistant curator Cornelia, researching an exhibition on S. P. Hart for the National Gallery of Victoria, makes a remarkable discovery that has the potential to rewrite history. However, it is not Hart's paintings that offer a glimpse into the untold events of nineteenth-century rural Australia, but rather something very rare . . .
'The Longing is a novel about loss, finding home and the significance of history - what is recorded and what is left unknown.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
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Dedication: To Michael and James.
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Epigraph:
The epigraph comprises a quote from Deborah Bird Rose's Nourishing Terrains (1996). The quote begins: Country in Aboriginal English is not only a common noun but also a proper noun. People talk about country in the same way they talk about a person: they speak to country, sing to country, visit country, worry about country, feel sorry for country, and long for country...
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
- Braille.
Works about this Work
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Artbooks
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Art and Australia , Summer vol. 50 no. 2 2012; (p. 321)
— Review of The Longing 2012 single work novel ; Autumn Laing 2011 single work novel -
Well Read
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 7 April 2012; (p. 23)
— Review of The Longing 2012 single work novel -
Umbra Penumbra
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 340 2012; (p. 43)
— Review of The Longing 2012 single work novel -
In Short : Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 3-4 March 2012; (p. 34)
— Review of The Longing 2012 single work novel -
Satisfying Fare for Art Sleuths
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 3 March 2012; (p. 25)
— Review of The Longing 2012 single work novel
-
Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 11 February 2012; (p. 30)
— Review of The Longing 2012 single work novel -
Bridget Jones, It Seems, Has a Male Equivalent
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3-4 March 2012; (p. 22)
— Review of Sweet Old World 2012 single work novel ; The Longing 2012 single work novel -
Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 3 - 4 March 2012; (p. 22)
— Review of The Longing 2012 single work novel -
Satisfying Fare for Art Sleuths
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 3 March 2012; (p. 25)
— Review of The Longing 2012 single work novel -
In Short : Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 3-4 March 2012; (p. 34)
— Review of The Longing 2012 single work novel -
Candice Bruce
2012
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 25-26 February 2012; (p. 30-31)
- Victoria,
- Western District, Victoria,
- 1800-1899
- 2000-2099