AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
''A superb storyteller ... it is impossible not to be impressed by Courtenay's talents' - The Times JESSICA is based on the real life of a remarkable young Australian woman who defied the conventions of her time. She had a stubborn streak and the courage to act out her convictions ... in spite of the consequences. This compelling, sweeping story is her personal fight for justice against enormous odds, and a testimony to the power of the human spirit to triumph over adversity.' (Publication summary)
Adaptations
-
form
y
Jessica
Bryce Courtenay's Jessica
( dir. Peter Andrikidis
)
2004
Sydney
Australia
Geneva
:
Screentime
Network Ten
Powercorp
,
2004
Z1131698
2004
single work
film/TV
A sweeping saga of love, deceit and sacrifice set during the early years of the twentieth century in the farmlands around Narrandera, then a small frontier town in rural south-west New South Wales. The narrative focuses on the Bergman sisters, Jessica, the feisty tomboy who loves to help her father work their farmland, and her beautiful sister, Meg, who is being groomed by her mother, Hester, to be the perfect wife so that she can marry her way out of poverty. However, Richard, the man that Meg has set her sights on, falls in love with Jessica, and they later have a son. Undeterred, Hester schemes to wrench the couple apart so that Meg can claim both Richard and his son. She eventually commits her daughter to a mental asylum, and it is there Jessica receives news of her lover's death and almost loses hope. After enlisting the help of Mr Runche, a down-and-out lawyer battling alcoholism, she is eventually released and, years later, it is the reformed Runche who gives Jessica the courage to fight for the return of her child.
Notes
-
Selected in December 2004 by the Australian public in an ABC poll as Australia's 58th favourite book.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Braille.
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Showman Who Knew the Power of a Story
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 24 November 2012; (p. 26-27) -
form
y
Bestsellers and Blockbusters
Sydney
:
Australian Broadcasting Commission
,
2010
15302616
2010
film/TV
'Jennifer Byrne is joined by the heavy artillery of the publishing world to discuss what it takes to be a bestselling author. Jennifer is joined by the man behind the enigmatic Jack Reacher Lee Child, author of Ice Station and The Five Greatest Warriors Matthew Reilly, author of 17 bestselling novels including The Silent Country, Di Morrissey as well as Australia's biggest selling author Bryce Courtenay.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
-
Truth of Fiction
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , February-March no. 208 1999; (p. 20-21)
— Review of Jessica 1997 single work novel -
Loss of Character
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 8 February 1999; (p. 8)
— Review of Jessica 1997 single work novel -
Murrumbidgee Dreaming, and Innocence Lost
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 9 January 1999; (p. 18)
— Review of Jessica 1997 single work novel
-
Coming Soon
1998
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 25 October 1998; (p. 19)
— Review of Jessica 1997 single work novel -
One Long Country Song
1998
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 1 December vol. 117 no. 6151 1998; (p. 77)
— Review of Jessica 1997 single work novel -
Popular - Except with the Critics
1998
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 5 December 1998; (p. 21)
— Review of Jessica 1997 single work novel -
Bring on the Jaffas
1998
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 12 December 1998; (p. 7)
— Review of Jessica 1997 single work novel -
Research and Destroy
1998
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 12-13 December 1998; (p. 12)
— Review of Jessica 1997 single work novel -
Showman Who Knew the Power of a Story
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 24 November 2012; (p. 26-27) -
Written on the Wind
1998
single work
column
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 1 December vol. 117 no. 6151 1998; (p. 77) -
Struck by the Power of One Story
1998
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Mercury , 26 November 1998; (p. 19) -
form
y
Bestsellers and Blockbusters
Sydney
:
Australian Broadcasting Commission
,
2010
15302616
2010
film/TV
'Jennifer Byrne is joined by the heavy artillery of the publishing world to discuss what it takes to be a bestselling author. Jennifer is joined by the man behind the enigmatic Jack Reacher Lee Child, author of Ice Station and The Five Greatest Warriors Matthew Reilly, author of 17 bestselling novels including The Silent Country, Di Morrissey as well as Australia's biggest selling author Bryce Courtenay.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Awards
- Narrandera area, Leeton - Narrandera area, Riverina - Murray area, New South Wales,