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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, this brilliant novel from Madeleine St John, author of The Women in Black, is a comic and tender look at the vicissitudes of love and relationships.
'Nicola should never have stepped out to buy that pack of cigarettes, because the man she discovers in her living room when she returns is not the adorable, straightforward, devoted Jonathan with whom she has been sharing her life.
'That Jonathan would never have unilaterally decided that she should, as he abruptly put it, ‘move out’.
'A shocked Nicola packs her bags and sets out bravely on the bumpy course that will take her from the end of an affair to the essence of the thing.' (Publication summary : Text Classics)
Notes
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Dedication: For Judith McCue
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Madeleine St John, The Essence of the Thing
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , May vol. 7 no. 2 2015;
— Review of The Essence of the Thing 1997 single work novel -
Navigating a River of Sadness
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 15-16 June 2013; (p. 20-21) 'Helen Trinca considers a writer who found life a 'very mysterious business'. -
Summer Sizzlers
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 19 December 2009; (p. 12-14)
— Review of Red Queen 2008 single work novel ; Siddon Rock 2005 single work novel ; We Don't Live Here Anymore 2009 single work novel ; Brown Skin Blue 2009 single work novel ; The Devil's Staircase 2009 single work novel ; The Paperbark Shoe 2009 single work novel ; The Book of Rapture 2009 single work novel ; Jasper Jones 2009 single work novel ; The Essence of the Thing 1997 single work novel ; The Women in Black 1993 single work novel ; The Lost Life 2009 single work novel Ian Nichols nominates a selection of titles for Summer reading over the 2009-2010 holiday period, including works by Australian writers. -
Untitled
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 17 October 2009; (p. 24)
— Review of The Essence of the Thing 1997 single work novel -
A Woman Scorned Finds True Identity
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 October 2009; (p. 13)
— Review of The Essence of the Thing 1997 single work novel
-
A Woman Scorned Finds True Identity
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 October 2009; (p. 13)
— Review of The Essence of the Thing 1997 single work novel -
Untitled
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 17 October 2009; (p. 24)
— Review of The Essence of the Thing 1997 single work novel -
Summer Sizzlers
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 19 December 2009; (p. 12-14)
— Review of Red Queen 2008 single work novel ; Siddon Rock 2005 single work novel ; We Don't Live Here Anymore 2009 single work novel ; Brown Skin Blue 2009 single work novel ; The Devil's Staircase 2009 single work novel ; The Paperbark Shoe 2009 single work novel ; The Book of Rapture 2009 single work novel ; Jasper Jones 2009 single work novel ; The Essence of the Thing 1997 single work novel ; The Women in Black 1993 single work novel ; The Lost Life 2009 single work novel Ian Nichols nominates a selection of titles for Summer reading over the 2009-2010 holiday period, including works by Australian writers. -
Like Marmalade
1997
single work
review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 12 September no. 4928 1997; (p. 9)
— Review of The Essence of the Thing 1997 single work novel -
Battle of the Booker
1997
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 27 September 1997; (p. 10)
— Review of The Essence of the Thing 1997 single work novel -
Booker Listing Sends Madeleine 'a Bit Barmy'
1997
single work
column
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 17 September 1997; (p. 1,6) -
The Essence of Being a Writer
1997
single work
column
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 20 September 1997; (p. 42) -
Navigating a River of Sadness
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 15-16 June 2013; (p. 20-21) 'Helen Trinca considers a writer who found life a 'very mysterious business'.
Awards
- 1997 shortlisted The Booker Prize
Last amended 13 Apr 2023 16:18:02
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