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y separately published work icon Flock single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2011... 2011 Flock
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A seductive novel of family, destiny, love and wallpaper They met on a train. They fell in love. They got married. They lived happily ever after. Or not.

'Francis Sprigge and Lilian Powys, two strangers escaping their past, move to the Blue Mountains together, following their dreams of creativity and love. But as Francis pursues his gift for designing exquisite wallpaper, Lilian finds that the ordinary life she craves remains frustratingly beyond reach. Despite her adoring husband and spirited young daughter Adelaide, Lilian cannot outrun her demons, and cracks soon appear in the family′s harmonious veneer.

'Nearly thirty years later, Addie Sprigge returns to her childhood haunts to lead a small team of conservators in the restoration of a historic mansion. But as they peel back the layers of wallpaper and begin to uncover the secrets of the house, the past resurfaces in unexpected ways. Addie learns much more about herself, and her parents, than she ever could have anticipated.

'Flock is the captivating story of talented and passionate people and the ghosts they must lay to rest, as well as a ravishing exploration of the nature of love - and wallpaper.' (From the publisher's website.)

Notes

  • Dedication:
    For Ken, Glen and Kei
    And the wallpapers we loved, and endured.

  • Epigraph:
    Some women marry houses.
    It's another kind of skin; it has a heart,
    a mouth, a liver and bowel movements.
    The walls are permanent and pink.
    See how she sits on her knees all day,
    faithfully washing herself down.
    Men enter by force, drawn back like Jonah
    into their fleshy mothers.
    A woman is her mother.
    That's the main thing.

    Anne Sexton, 1961
  • Epigraph:
    • Love has no bounds in Pleasure, or in Pain. - 'Eclogue II', Virgil, translated by John Dryden
    • She is very lovely and mine which is very lovely. - 'Bundles for Them', Gertrude Stein

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Pymble, Turramurra - Pymble - St Ives area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Fourth Estate , 2011 .
      image of person or book cover 5455510273553712928.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 342p.
      Note/s:
      • Publication date: 1 March 2011.
      ISBN: 9780730496816 (ebk.), 9780732291853 (pbk.)

Other Formats

  • Large print.
  • Braille.

Works about this Work

Wallpaper Fiction Carol Middleton , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 330 2011; (p. 20)

— Review of Flock Lyn Hughes , 2011 single work novel
Love, Loss and Life Written on Walls Veronica Sen , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 26 March 2011; (p. 23)

— Review of Flock Lyn Hughes , 2011 single work novel
Emotions Uncovered, Layer by Subtle Layer Caroline Baum , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 19-20 March 2011; (p. 30)

— Review of Flock Lyn Hughes , 2011 single work novel
Off the Shelf : Fiction Lorien Kaye , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 5 March 2011; (p. 38)

— Review of Flock Lyn Hughes , 2011 single work novel
Cover Notes Lucy Sussex , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 6 March 2011; (p. 21)

— Review of Flock Lyn Hughes , 2011 single work novel
Untitled Tiffany Bridger , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , March vol. 90 no. 6 2011; (p. 32)

— Review of Flock Lyn Hughes , 2011 single work novel
Cover Notes Lucy Sussex , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 6 March 2011; (p. 21)

— Review of Flock Lyn Hughes , 2011 single work novel
Off the Shelf : Fiction Lorien Kaye , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 5 March 2011; (p. 38)

— Review of Flock Lyn Hughes , 2011 single work novel
Emotions Uncovered, Layer by Subtle Layer Caroline Baum , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 19-20 March 2011; (p. 30)

— Review of Flock Lyn Hughes , 2011 single work novel
Love, Loss and Life Written on Walls Veronica Sen , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 26 March 2011; (p. 23)

— Review of Flock Lyn Hughes , 2011 single work novel
Last amended 13 Apr 2021 10:01:56
Settings:
  • Blue Mountains, Sydney, New South Wales,
  • 1950s
  • 1980s
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