AustLit logo
image of person or book cover 2131628454630953368.jpg
This image has been sourced from online.
y separately published work icon The Drowner single work   novel   historical fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 1996... 1996 The Drowner
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'In the warm alkaline waters of the public bath, a naive and headstrong young engineer accidentally collides with a breathtaking actress. From this innocent collision of flesh begins a passion that will take them from the Wiltshire Downs to the mythical source of life in Africa - and to the most elemental choices of life and death in the Australian desert.

'While the intense love story of William Dance and Angelica Lloyd is at the heart of The Drowner, it is but a part of the daring story that unfolds. By irresistibly mingling history, myth and technology with a modern cinematic and poetic imagination, Robert Drewe has reached beyond the traditions of the romance and annexed new territory.

'Such is the grand scale and original texture of The Drowner that it is at once a fable of European ambitions in an alien landscape, a magnificently sustained metaphor of water as the life and death force and, above all, an intimate and ambitious portrayal - of great resonance and haunting sensuality - of the essence of the differences between men and women.

'Lyrical and astringent, vibrant and tender, The Drowner has all the mysterious powers of a dream. Robert Drewe's seventh work of fiction shows an author at the peak of his powers demonstrating the full vigour of his artistic vision.' (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Macmillan , 1996 .
      image of person or book cover 2131628454630953368.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 329p.
      ISBN: 0732908582
    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Picador , 1997 .
      image of person or book cover 1540866654132501783.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 329p.
      ISBN: 0330360124 (pbk.)
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Granta ,
      1997 .
      image of person or book cover 7094332346687626658.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 329p.
      ISBN: 9780330360128
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      St. Martin's Press ,
      1997 .
      image of person or book cover 2941914530471191839.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 1v.p.
      ISBN: 9780312168216, 0312168217
    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2001 .
      image of person or book cover 8650163282801475576.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 335p.p.
      ISBN: 0141008024
Alternative title: Le maître de l'eau : roman
Language: French
    • Arles,
      c
      France,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Actes Sud ,
      1998 .
      image of person or book cover 8925974756679535330.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 327p.p.
      ISBN: 9782742718566, 2742718567

Other Formats

  • Braille.
  • Sound recording.

Works about this Work

Films Clipped Robert Drewe , 2010 single work autobiography
— Appears in: The West Australian , 5 June 2010; (p. 30)
Robert Drewe and the Business of Writing Mark Naglazas , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: Indigo , Spring no. 4 2009; (p. 8-15)
On My Bedside Table Amy Barrett-Lennard , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 12 April 2008; (p. 42)

— Review of The Drowner Robert Drewe , 1996 single work novel
A Beach Somewhere : The Australian Littoral Imagination at Play Bruce Bennett , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Littoral Zone : Australian Contexts and Their Writers 2007; (p. 31-44)
A remarkable array of late twentieth and early twenty-first century Australian novelists and short story writers have presented images of West Australian beaches and coastlines. These authors include Robert Drewe, Jack Davis, Randolph Stow, Peter Cowan, Dorothy Hewett, and Tim Winton. Their human dramas have a peculiar poignancy when played out against the natural elements of these Western coasts. Sexual, emotional, or spiritual crises occur in maritime settings that both enhance their memorability and reveal humanity's fragile hold on the continent. (abstract taken from The Littoral Zone)
The Lesson of 'The Yellow Sand' : Robert Drewe's Dissection of 'The Good Old Past' in The Drowner and Grace Michael Ackland , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 51 no. 2006; (p. 88-107)
Argues that Robert Drewe's fiction questions nostalgia and notions of the 'the past' in the Australian psyche. Contends that Drewe has significantly broadened this focus in his most recent novels.
On My Bedside Table Amy Barrett-Lennard , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 12 April 2008; (p. 42)

— Review of The Drowner Robert Drewe , 1996 single work novel
Some Local Dantes Judith Armstrong , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 147 1997; (p. 83-85)

— Review of The Conversations at Curlow Creek David Malouf , 1996 single work novel ; Highways to a War Christopher Koch , 1995 single work novel ; Keep It Simple, Stupid Peter Goldsworthy , 1996 single work novel ; The Island in the Mind Rodney Hall , 1996 selected work novel ; The Drowner Robert Drewe , 1996 single work novel ; Oyster Janette Turner Hospital , 1996 single work novel
Liquid Gold A. P. Riemer , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 5 October 1996; (p. 11s)

— Review of The Drowner Robert Drewe , 1996 single work novel
Saturated with Desire Delia Falconer , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian's Review of Books , October vol. 1 no. 2 1996; (p. 10-11)

— Review of The Drowner Robert Drewe , 1996 single work novel
Elemental Streams Michael Wilding , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 12-13 October 1996; (p. rev 8)

— Review of The Drowner Robert Drewe , 1996 single work novel
Changing the Tide and the Tidings of Change : Robert Drewe's The Drowner Alistair Rolls , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 62 no. 3 2002; (p. 154-167)
In the Service of Complex Truths : The Aims and Art of Robert Drewe's Fiction Michael Ackland , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 50 no. 2005; (p. 26-41)
A discussion of Robert Drewe's repeated questioning in his writings of notions of 'truth'.
The Lesson of 'The Yellow Sand' : Robert Drewe's Dissection of 'The Good Old Past' in The Drowner and Grace Michael Ackland , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 51 no. 2006; (p. 88-107)
Argues that Robert Drewe's fiction questions nostalgia and notions of the 'the past' in the Australian psyche. Contends that Drewe has significantly broadened this focus in his most recent novels.
A Beach Somewhere : The Australian Littoral Imagination at Play Bruce Bennett , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Littoral Zone : Australian Contexts and Their Writers 2007; (p. 31-44)
A remarkable array of late twentieth and early twenty-first century Australian novelists and short story writers have presented images of West Australian beaches and coastlines. These authors include Robert Drewe, Jack Davis, Randolph Stow, Peter Cowan, Dorothy Hewett, and Tim Winton. Their human dramas have a peculiar poignancy when played out against the natural elements of these Western coasts. Sexual, emotional, or spiritual crises occur in maritime settings that both enhance their memorability and reveal humanity's fragile hold on the continent. (abstract taken from The Littoral Zone)
Australia's Cultural Identity Now Robert Drewe , 2005 single work essay
— Appears in: New Literatures Review , October no. 44 2005; (p. 23-31)
Robert Drewe discusses Australian identity in terms of 'the Myth of Landscape' and 'the Myth of Character', using examples from his fiction to illustrate.
Last amended 8 May 2020 12:28:03
Settings:
  • Africa,
  • Western Australia,
  • Perth, Western Australia,
  • Europe,
  • 1890s
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X