AustLit
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1y Obernewtyn Ringwood : Puffin , 1987 Z301844 1987 single work novel young adult fantasy
'Elspeth is one of a new breed born into a world recovering from widespread destruction. The ruling council will tolerate no opposition. Elspeth must hide her telepathic powers in order to survive. In the mountain orphanage of Obernewtyn, Elspeth meets others with similar powers and together they confront the evil hidden there.' (Source: Trove)
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2y The Farseekers Ringwood : Penguin , 1990 Z461690 1990 single work novel young adult fantasy
'In the two years since its takeover of Obernewtyn, the secret community of Misfits has flourished. Protected by their remoteness, Elspeth Gordie and her allies have worked hard to develop their forbidden mental abilities—all in preparation for their inevitable confrontation with the totalitarian Council. And though their training is far from complete, the Misfits can no longer stay hidden when they learn of the existence of a new Talent—one whose power may eclipse anything they have seen before.' (Publication summary)
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3y Ashling Ringwood : Viking , 1995 Z163698 1995 single work novel young adult fantasy
'Reminiscent of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover novels, Obernewtyn introduced Isobelle Carmody as a writer to watch and began a series of novels to entice and enthrall readers of all ages. The Farseekers continued the saga of Obernewtyn and its band of Misfits, children outcast from society because of their psychic abilities–and the story of their heroic leaders, Elspeth Gordie, who alone carried the fate of the world on her shoulders.
Elspeth’s adventures continue as she tries to seal an alliance between the secret Misfit community at Obernewtyn and the rebel forces rumored to be hiding in the capital, right under the noses of the dreaded totalitarian Council.
Elspeth travels from the mountains reluctantly, for at any moment the long-awaited summons may come to find and destroy the dormant weaponmachines left by the Beforetimers. Her journey takes her far beyond the borders of the Land, across the sea and into the heart of the mysterious desert region of Sador. Here she discovers that she cannot destroy the weaponmachines alone–she needs the help of the Sadorians. But before her dark quest can begin, Elspeth must learn the truth of her dreams: she must understand why the Beforetimers destroyed their world . . . .' (Publication summary)
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4y The Keeping Place Ringwood : Viking , 1999 Z266724 1999 single work novel young adult fantasy Dameon is kidnapped and the misfits are forced to offer themselves to the rebels. Meanwhile, Elspeth journeys to Sador with Dragon, and there she finds the fifth and last sign in her quest to deactivate the weapon machines.
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5y The Stone Key Camberwell : Penguin , 2008 Z1410125 2008 single work novel young adult fantasy
'When Farseeker Guildmistress Espeth Gordie sets out from Obernewtyn to travel to Sutrium at the end of Wintertime, she quickly learns that not everyone welcomes the changes brought about by the rebellion. Captured by an old and vicious enemy, she is drawn deep into the heart of the Herder Faction, where she learns of a terrible plot to destroy the west coast.
'To stop it, Elspeth must risk everything, knowing that if she dies, she will never complete her quest to find the weaponmachines that destroyed the Beforetime.
'But if she succeeds, her journey will lead her to the last of the signs left for her by the seer Kasanda...' (Publisher's blurb)
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6y The Sending Camberwell : Penguin , 2011 Z1813667 2011 single work novel young adult fantasy 'It came to me then, like a chilly draught from an unseen gap, that I had always known in my deepest heart that it would be like this, a slipping away from a life full of people I had come to love, in a place I had helped to shape, in a land I had helped to free.
'The time has come at last for Elspeth Gordie to leave the Land on her quest to find and stop the computer machine Sentinel from unleashing the deadly Balance of Terror arsenal. But before she can embark on her journey, she must find a lost key. And although she has long prepared for this day, nothing is as she anticipated.
'Elspeth's search will take her where she never thought to go, and bestow upon her stranger companions than any she ever imagined. It will lead her far from her destination to those she believed lost forever.
'And it will test her, as she has never been tested before . . .' (From the publisher's website.)
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7y The Red Queen Melbourne : Penguin , 2015 8864763 2015 single work novel young adult fantasy
'Before Elspeth Gordie can continue her journey to find Sentinel and prevent it unleashing the horrors of the Great White, she must fight free of a strange prison, where people are laid to sleep forever or cling to a suffocating existence, believing the world beyond their walls is already utterly annihilated.
'But at the end of her journey, nothing is as she imagined. She is drawn into the struggle for a kingdom, only to find the Destroyer is at the heart of the turmoil, waiting for her.
'Somehow she must do what she has sworn to do, for the sake of the world and all of its creatures. She must complete her quest, no matter what it costs . . .
'The highly anticipated dramatic conclusion to the much-loved Obernewtyn Chronicles from award-winning and bestselling author Isobelle Carmody. Drawing to a close the journey of Elspeth Gordie and the Misfits, The Red Queen will surprise and thrill readers right to the very last page.' (Sourced from publisher's website.)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Who Gets to Survive the Apocalypse? Disability Hierarchy in Post-Disaster Fiction in Australian YA
2022
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 37 no. 1 2022;'Australia has produced many post-disaster novels since the 1980s, our landscape and sense of global isolation inspiring long lists of environmental and political crises. While this literature provokes considerable work from ecocritical and postcolonial perspectives, the representation or use of disability in post-disaster narratives is less studied. This essay undertakes crip readings of a range of Australian young adult novels published since the 1980s, including Isobelle Carmody’s long running Obernewtyn chronicles (1986-2015) and Ambelin Kwaymullina’s Tribe sequence, particularly The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf (2012) and The Foretelling of Georgie Spider (2015).'(Publication abstract)
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Isobelle Carmody : Red Queen of Fantasy
2018
single work
interview
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 33 no. 1 2018; (p. 12-14) After her room-lighting smile and greeting, the first thing Isobelle Carmody says when we meet in Sydney for Oz ComicCon is , I love learning new things. This is evident from the vivacity and depth of her understanding and engagement with important philosophical questions. She is a whirlwind of enthusiasm and erudition. (Introduction) -
Neuroscience in Science Fiction : Brain Augmentation in an Increasingly Futuristic World
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Aurealis , no. 105 2017; -
Isobelle Carmody's 'Blissful Separation' from the Obernewtyn Chronicles
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 12 November 2015; -
A Series of Fortunate Readers : A Collaborative Review Article of Important Australasian YA Writing
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: TEXT : Special Issue Website Series , October no. 32 2015;
— Review of Hitler's Daughter 1999 single work children's fiction ; The Book Thief 2005 single work novel ; Jasper Jones 2009 single work novel ; Tribe 2012- series - author novel ; The Obernewtyn Chronicles 1987 series - author novel ; Waiting for the End of the World 1983 single work novel ; On the Jellicoe Road 2006 single work novel ; The Incredible Adventures Of Cinnamon Girl 2014 single work novel
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Young Readers Write About Their Reading
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Winter vol. 3 no. 2 1995; (p. 16)
— Review of The Gathering 1993 single work novel ; Scatterlings 1991 single work novel ; The Obernewtyn Chronicles 1987 series - author novel -
A Series of Fortunate Readers : A Collaborative Review Article of Important Australasian YA Writing
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: TEXT : Special Issue Website Series , October no. 32 2015;
— Review of Hitler's Daughter 1999 single work children's fiction ; The Book Thief 2005 single work novel ; Jasper Jones 2009 single work novel ; Tribe 2012- series - author novel ; The Obernewtyn Chronicles 1987 series - author novel ; Waiting for the End of the World 1983 single work novel ; On the Jellicoe Road 2006 single work novel ; The Incredible Adventures Of Cinnamon Girl 2014 single work novel -
A Long Time between Books
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 26 November 2011; (p. 26) -
Children of the Apocalypse
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Apocalypse in Australian Fiction and Film : A Critical Study 2011; (p. 108-134)This chapter explores apocalypse in children's literature with reference to literary attitudes to children, nature and dystopia. Examinations of works by Lee Harding, Victor Kelleher, and John Marsden then focus on how these writers adapt apocalyptic themes for a juvenile audience. Their novels display tyranny, large-scale catastrophe, invasion, and children in danger, and their apocalyptic settings reveal anxieties about isolation, invasion, Indigenous land rights and colonization. (108)
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Serious Fantasy: Science Fiction and High Fantasy
1995
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Children's Literature : An Exploration of Genre and Theme 1995; (p. 155-176) -
MIRV, MARV and FOBS: Language and Significances in a Selection of Post-Nuclear Texts for Young Adults
2000
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , August vol. 10 no. 2 2000; (p. 35-44)Braithwaite is interested in the use of language in texts with a post-nuclear setting and how through a number of techniques, 'language in the nuclear debate frequently encodes power relations whereby those who massage the conventional meanings of language attempt to influence others, often by promoting an ideological position which can be difficult for the reader to oppose' (35). Braithwaite closely analyses five texts, including The Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle Carmody, which focus on the survival and personal development of the protagonist and/or central characters and in which language is presented as 'a means by which the central characters attempt to excercise power over the world in which they find themselves' (35). For Braithwaite, 'the fascination with language, names and meaning in post-nuclear fiction invites readers to examine how individuals perceive their own realities and how consensus reality can be both questioned and taken for granted' (43). Braithwaite asserts that 'the reader who realises this duality will be in a stronger position both to engage with the text and to examine the ideological positions (both overt and covert) which are being presented'(43).
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How Australian Dystopian Young Adult Fiction Differs from Its US Counterparts
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 4 August 2015; 'For children and adolescents, the tyranny of adults can make any world dystopian. Real or fictional – no apocalypse required. But how does our Australian young adult fiction (of the dystopian variety) differ from that being produced in the US? And why do teenagers love dystopia so much?' (Introduction)