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y separately published work icon The Sugar Mother single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 1988... 1988 The Sugar Mother
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Edwin Page, a fussy middle-aged professor, no sooner bids farewell to his obstetrician wife, Cecilia, who accepted a fellowship abroad, when his new neighbors, Mrs. Botts and her sexy, twentyish daughter, Leila, arrive. Since they're locked out of their house, Edwin invites them in—and then can't get them to leave. He becomes obsessed with Leila and convinces himself that she is a perfect surrogate mother for the childless Cecilia.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Persea ed.).

Adaptations

The Sugar Mother John Senczuk , 1993 single work drama

Notes

  • Study guides and discussion notes available.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Fremantle, Fremantle area, South West Perth, Perth, Western Australia,: Fremantle Press , 1988 .
      image of person or book cover 4609633787708488165.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 210p.
      Description: illus.
      Note/s:
      • Frontispiece and titles by John Oldham (verso of title page)
      ISBN: 0949206296
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Sydney, New South Wales,: Harper and Row ,
      1988 .
      image of person or book cover 2348828566083521552.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 210p.
      Edition info: First ed.
      ISBN: 0060159405
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Harper and Row ,
      1988 .
      Extent: 235p.
      Note/s:
      • '... advance reading copy from uncorrected manuscript'. - Cover.
    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 1989 .
      person or book cover
      Image courtesy of Penguin Books
      Extent: 210p.
      ISBN: 0140115013
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Viking ,
      1989 .
      Extent: 210p.
      ISBN: 0670824356
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Penguin ,
      1990 .
      person or book cover
      Image courtesy of Penguin Books
      Extent: 210p.
      ISBN: 0140114718
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Virago ,
      2000 .
      image of person or book cover 3163819902426778060.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 310p.
      Note/s:
      • Virago Modern Classics
      ISBN: 1860498310
      Series: y separately published work icon Virago Modern Classics Virago (publisher), 1978- Z1498171 1978 series - publisher
    • Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2009 .
      person or book cover
      Image courtesy of Penguin Books
      Extent: 210p.
      ISBN: 9780143180180 (pbk.) :
      Series: Penguin Modern Classics series - publisher
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Persea Books ,
      2010 .
      image of person or book cover 6268934732289018507.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 224p.
      ISBN: 9780892553624 (pbk.), 0892553626 (pbk.)
Alternative title: Madre dulce
Language: Spanish
    • Madrid,
      c
      Spain,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Espasa Calpe ,
      1991 .
      image of person or book cover 5325682342859783011.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 340p.
      ISBN: 8423923541

Other Formats

  • Braille.
  • Sound recording.

Works about this Work

Interpretation of Academic Fiction in Britain, America and Australia Zhang Rongsheng , Ding Wei , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Studies – Proceedings of the 14th International Conference of Australian Studies in China 2015; (p. 102-109)
'As a literary genre, academic fiction has emerged in recent years as one of the most popular modes for satirizing the cultural conflicts and sociological nuances inherent in campus life. Well-known academic novels include Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim and David Lodge's Small World in Britain; Saul Bellow's Herzog; Nabokov's Pnin in America; Michael Wilding's Academia Nuts and Elizabeth Jolley's The Sugar Mother in Australia. From a global point of view, this paper aims to explore the development of academic fiction in Britain, America as well as Australia. Academic novels are often comic or satirical, often counterpointing intellectual pretensions and human weaknesses. Some, however, attempt a serious treatment of university life. Academic fiction develops at a rapid speed in the 20th century and has become an indispensable and distinct genre of literature worldwide.' (102)
Footfalls Echo in the Memory Elizabeth Jolley , 2006 single work autobiography
— Appears in: Learning to Dance : Elizabeth Jolley : Her Life and Work 2006; (p. 293-299)
Babies Eat Their Lace : Elizabeth Jolley and the Slaughter of Decorum Eden Liddelow , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: After Electra : Rage, Grief and Hope in Twentieth-Century Fiction 2002; (p. 118-136, notes 194-195)
Political Persons : Empire, Motherhood and State Control Dorothy Jones , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: Compr(om)ising Post/colonialism(s) : Challenging Narratives and Practices 2001; (p. 174-181)
Discusses various postcolonial texts, including Jolley's novel.
Bound by that Claim : Necessity in Elizabeth Jolley Eden Liddelow , 1997 single work criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , vol. 56 no. 3-4 1997; (p. 723-734)
Capturing the Essence Cath Kenneally , 1989 single work review
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , May no. 63 1989; (p. 20-21)

— Review of My Father's Moon Elizabeth Jolley , 1989 single work novel ; The Sugar Mother Elizabeth Jolley , 1988 single work novel
Jolley Good Rites of Passage Marian Favel Clair Eldridge , 1989 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 29 April 1989; (p. B4)

— Review of My Father's Moon Elizabeth Jolley , 1989 single work novel ; The Sugar Mother Elizabeth Jolley , 1988 single work novel
Reviews David P. Reiter , 1989 single work review
— Appears in: Redoubt , August no. 6 1989; (p. 65-70)

— Review of My Father's Moon Elizabeth Jolley , 1989 single work novel ; The Sugar Mother Elizabeth Jolley , 1988 single work novel
Volcanic Emotional Ground Stephanie Dowrick , 1988 single work review
— Appears in: Vogue Australia , July 1988; (p. 80)

— Review of Remembrance Faith Richmond , 1988 single work novel ; The Sugar Mother Elizabeth Jolley , 1988 single work novel ; The Reading Group Amanda Lohrey , 1988 single work novel
A Jolley Professor Swallows the Sugar Catherine Peake , 1988 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 16 April 1988; (p. 72)

— Review of The Sugar Mother Elizabeth Jolley , 1988 single work novel
Political Persons : Empire, Motherhood and State Control Dorothy Jones , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: Compr(om)ising Post/colonialism(s) : Challenging Narratives and Practices 2001; (p. 174-181)
Discusses various postcolonial texts, including Jolley's novel.
Babies Eat Their Lace : Elizabeth Jolley and the Slaughter of Decorum Eden Liddelow , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: After Electra : Rage, Grief and Hope in Twentieth-Century Fiction 2002; (p. 118-136, notes 194-195)
Footfalls Echo in the Memory Elizabeth Jolley , 2006 single work autobiography
— Appears in: Learning to Dance : Elizabeth Jolley : Her Life and Work 2006; (p. 293-299)
Differences Within: Three Australian Women Writers Wenche Ommundsen , 1995 single work criticism
— Appears in: A Sense of Difference 1995; (p. 25-47)
The article emphasises the diversity of contemporary Australian women's writing.
Bound by that Claim : Necessity in Elizabeth Jolley Eden Liddelow , 1997 single work criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , vol. 56 no. 3-4 1997; (p. 723-734)

Awards

1993 inaugural winner France-Australia Award for Literary Translation for 1992 French edition translated by Francoise Cartano.
Last amended 22 Mar 2022 08:01:29
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