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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The daughter of a celebrity must discover who is worthy of her devotion and who is just a fan.
'It's been twenty years since her mother was photographed, blood-soaked, outside the family home. A famous TV food personality, she fled the country. Since that time, the girl has grown up. She's bought an apartment, learned her own cooking style, fallen in love. She lives a quiet life, working as a copywriter for a health insurance company. She's found happiness, finally.
'But strange things are in the air. Her easy-going boyfriend has started sleeping with men. Her mother is selling the infamous family home. And a glamorous, pregnant neighbour has moved into the apartment downstairs, calling into question everything the girl believes about her own desires.
'How are we supposed to understand our past when all we have is our present? Do people still love us if they'd rather be anywhere but with us? And in a world of conspiracies, dubious loyalties, and mercenary impulses, how do we work out who is worthy of our devotion and who is just a fan?
'Equal parts funny and contemplative, Shirley charts a search for meaning in a world where the fracturing of ambitions - work and purpose, real estate and home, family and love - has left us uncertain how to recognise ourselves.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Braille.
- Dyslexic edition.
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
Best of 2023 in Australian Reading
2024
single work
review
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2024;
— Review of Shirley 2023 single work novel ; Praiseworthy 2023 single work novel ; Search History 2023 single work novel ; Green Dot 2023 single work novel ; Songs for the Dead and the Living 2023 single work novel ; Notes on Her Colour 2023 single work novel ; Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens 2022 single work novel ; Crossing the Line 2023 single work autobiography ; Anam 2023 single work novel -
Against Lifestyle
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , March 2023;
— Review of Shirley 2023 single work novel -
Foodies and Fame : Ronnie Scott’s Pandemic-inflected Novel
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 452 2023; (p. 40)
— Review of Shirley 2023 single work novel'The unnamed narrator of Ronnie Scott’s second novel, Shirley, is a socially engaged thirty-something foodie from Melbourne’s inner north. She works as an internal copywriter for a health insurance company. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the vegan-friendly bars and eateries within a five-kilometre radius of her small apartment in trendy Collingwood. She also cooks: scrambled tofu and vegan chorizo soup; Korean vegan pancakes and Cantonese soy sauce noodles; pan-fried gnocchi with blended basil and gochujang. She might wash these down with a glass of wine or whisky, or even a michelada, followed by the occasional menthol cigarette. She has been confined to her apartment alone for 262 cumulative days of lockdown (‘and the wild, long days that have fallen between them’), imposed by the Victorian government to curtail Covid-19. She also happens to be the daughter of a celebrity.'(Introduction)
-
Shirley by Ronnie Scott Review – Finally, a Male Author Who Brilliantly Writes Women
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 17 February 2023;
— Review of Shirley 2023 single work novel'The author’s second novel is impressively constructed, following a young woman who was raised by a group of men beholden to her celebrity mother' (Introduction)
-
Crumb Bachelors and Millennial HENRYs Enliven Ronnie Scott’s Zeitgeisty New Novel
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 2 February 2023;
— Review of Shirley 2023 single work novel'Ronnie Scott is an RMIT academic and co-founder of the literary journal The Lifted Brow. His debut novel, The Adversary (2020), set mainly in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, was a wry exploration of the nuances of house sharing and online dating.'
-
Crumb Bachelors and Millennial HENRYs Enliven Ronnie Scott’s Zeitgeisty New Novel
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 2 February 2023;
— Review of Shirley 2023 single work novel'Ronnie Scott is an RMIT academic and co-founder of the literary journal The Lifted Brow. His debut novel, The Adversary (2020), set mainly in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, was a wry exploration of the nuances of house sharing and online dating.'
-
Shirley by Ronnie Scott Review – Finally, a Male Author Who Brilliantly Writes Women
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 17 February 2023;
— Review of Shirley 2023 single work novel'The author’s second novel is impressively constructed, following a young woman who was raised by a group of men beholden to her celebrity mother' (Introduction)
-
Foodies and Fame : Ronnie Scott’s Pandemic-inflected Novel
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 452 2023; (p. 40)
— Review of Shirley 2023 single work novel'The unnamed narrator of Ronnie Scott’s second novel, Shirley, is a socially engaged thirty-something foodie from Melbourne’s inner north. She works as an internal copywriter for a health insurance company. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the vegan-friendly bars and eateries within a five-kilometre radius of her small apartment in trendy Collingwood. She also cooks: scrambled tofu and vegan chorizo soup; Korean vegan pancakes and Cantonese soy sauce noodles; pan-fried gnocchi with blended basil and gochujang. She might wash these down with a glass of wine or whisky, or even a michelada, followed by the occasional menthol cigarette. She has been confined to her apartment alone for 262 cumulative days of lockdown (‘and the wild, long days that have fallen between them’), imposed by the Victorian government to curtail Covid-19. She also happens to be the daughter of a celebrity.'(Introduction)
-
Against Lifestyle
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , March 2023;
— Review of Shirley 2023 single work novel -
Best of 2023 in Australian Reading
2024
single work
review
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2024;
— Review of Shirley 2023 single work novel ; Praiseworthy 2023 single work novel ; Search History 2023 single work novel ; Green Dot 2023 single work novel ; Songs for the Dead and the Living 2023 single work novel ; Notes on Her Colour 2023 single work novel ; Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens 2022 single work novel ; Crossing the Line 2023 single work autobiography ; Anam 2023 single work novel