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y separately published work icon The Women in Black single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 1993... 1993 The Women in Black
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The Women in Black is a perfect-pitch comedy of manners set in the ladies' cocktail section of F.G. Goode, a department store in 1950s Sydney. The women in black are run off their feet, what with the Christmas rush and the summer sales that follow. But it's Sydney in the 1950s, and there's still just enough time left on a hot and frantic day to dream and scheme. By the time the last marked-down frock has been sold, most of the staff of the Ladies Cocktail section at F. G. Goodes have been launched or precipitated into slightly different careers. For alterations of the tape-measure and pins variety are not the only kind which may turn out to be crucial in a woman's life.' (Provided by Text Publishing, 2009.)

Adaptations

Ladies in Black Carolyn Burns , 2015 single work musical theatre

'Step through the doors of F.G. Goode’s department store and into a marvellous musical whirl of glitz and glamour with Ladies in Black. This world premiere adaptation of Madeleine St John’s 1993 novel, The Women in Black, is brought to life by internationally-acclaimed director Simon Phillips (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Love Never Dies) with original music from superstar singer and musician, Tim Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House).

'Sydney is crossing the threshold between the stuffy repression of the 1950s and the glorious liberation of the 1960s. Bright-eyed bookish school leaver Lisa is to join the sales staff in the city’s most prestigious department store. In that summer of innocence, a world of possibilities opens up as she befriends the colourful denizens of the women’s frocks department – including her new mentor, the exotic European Magda, mysterious mistress of the gowns.

'With a dash of delicate comedy, Ladies in Black is a magical modern-day fairytale set in a city on the cusp of becoming cosmopolitan, and marks the triumphant return of musical theatre to Queensland Theatre Company’s stage.' (Production summary)

form y separately published work icon Ladies in Black Bruce Beresford , Sue Milliken , ( dir. Bruce Beresford ) Australia : Lumila Films , 2018 10891394 2018 single work film/TV

'Set in the summer of 1959, when the impact of European migration and the rise of women’s liberation is about to change Australia forever, a shy schoolgirl (Lisa) takes a summer job at the prestigious Sydney department store, Goode’s. There she meets the 'ladies in black', who will change her life forever. Beguiled and influenced by Magda, the vivacious manager of the high-fashion floor, and befriended by fellow sales ladies Patty and Fay, Lisa is awakened to a world of possibilities. As Lisa grows from a bookish schoolgirl to a glamorous and positive young woman, she herself becomes a catalyst for a cultural change in everyone’s lives.'

Source: Screen Australia.

form y separately published work icon Ladies in Black Greg Waters , Joan Sauers , Sarah Bassiuoni , Randa Sayed , ( dir. Gracie Otto ) Australia : Bunya Productions Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2024 27138642 2024 series - publisher film/TV

Notes

  • Reading Group Guide available through the Text Publishing website.
  • Dedication: This book is dedicated to the memory of M. & Mme. J.M. Cargher
  • Text Publishing has sold rights in multiple territories to Madeleine St John’s The Women in Black. (Source : Books + Publishing News 21 November 2018)

Contents

* Contents derived from the Melbourne, Victoria,:Text Publishing , 2009 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Madeleine St John, Christopher Potter , single work obituary
Madeleine and Me, Bruce Beresford , single work biography
* Contents derived from the Melbourne, Victoria,:Text Publishing , 2012 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Madeleine St John, Christopher Potter , single work obituary (p. 229-234)
Madeleine and Me, Bruce Beresford , single work biography

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Deutsch ,
      1993 .
      image of person or book cover 7743107515374752328.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 141p.
      ISBN: 0233988092
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Abacus ,
      1994 .
      image of person or book cover 201990252138494303.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 142p.
      ISBN: 0349105227
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Text Publishing , 2009 .
      image of person or book cover 4555328852037174107.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: xvii, 233 p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Introduction by Bruce Beresford.
      • Includes an obituary by Christopher Potter.
      • Dedication: This book is dedicated to the memory of M. & Mme. J.M. Cargher
      ISBN: 9781921520204 (pbk.)
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Text Publishing , 2018 .
      image of person or book cover 2869579984609300874.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: Ladies in Black
      Extent: 256p.
      Edition info: Film tie-in
      Note/s:
      • Published: 6th August 2018

      ISBN: 9781925603996
Alternative title: Ein Sommer in Sydney
Language: German
Notes:
Aus dem Englischen von Till R. Lohmeyer und Christel Rost.
    • Berlin,
      c
      Germany,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Argon ,
      1998 .
      image of person or book cover 7610109162451451681.jpeg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 199p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 1 October 2001
      ISBN: 3870244615

Other Formats

  • Braille.
  • Sound recording.

Works about this Work

In the Catalogue Vanessa Berry , 2020 single work essay
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , November 2020;

'At my desk in the Mitchell Library Reading Room I picked out a small cardboard folder from the pile of books and boxes beside me. Opening it I carefully removed a thin envelope, an item I had been curious to inspect after finding it listed in the library catalogue. ‘The ‘invisible hair net’: fully sterilized / made expressly for David Jones Sydney’, was, according to the catalogue summary, a ‘Specimen of a hair net packaged in an envelope. The packaging includes a black and white illustration of a woman with styled hair, presumably the result of wearing the invisible hair net.’' (Introduction)

Bruce Beresford and the Australian Jane Austen Joe Dolce , 2019 single work essay
— Appears in: Quadrant , March vol. 63 no. 3 2019; (p. 78-81)
Back in Black but These Ladies Are on Stage Sonia Harford , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 12 January 2016; (p. 18)
The Songs in Her Words Helen Trinca , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 7-8 November 2015; (p. 6)
Madeleine St John and Belle and Sebastian : Style and Substance Nikki Lusk , 2014 single work
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 4 April 2014;
Review Susan Hewitt , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 14 February 2009; (p. 28)

— Review of The Women in Black Madeleine St John , 1993 single work novel
Retro Chick-Lit Dons Little Black Frock for New Age Delia Falconer , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 28-29 March 2009; (p. 10-11)

— Review of The Women in Black Madeleine St John , 1993 single work novel
Frock 'til You Drop Michelle De Kretser , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 4 April 2009; (p. 24)

— Review of The Women in Black Madeleine St John , 1993 single work novel
Frocks Rule in a Sheltered World Helen Elliott , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10-12 April 2009; (p. 28-29)

— Review of The Women in Black Madeleine St John , 1993 single work novel
Cover Notes Lucy Sussex , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 12 April 2009; (p. 21)

— Review of The Women in Black Madeleine St John , 1993 single work novel ; Body at the Melbourne Club : Bertram Armytage, Antarctica's Forgotten Man David Burke , 2009 single work biography
In Memory of a Friendship Bruce Beresford , 2009 single work biography
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 28 March 2009; (p. 8-9)
Madeleine and Me Bruce Beresford , 2009 single work biography
— Appears in: The Women in Black 2009; The Women in Black 2012;
Shopping for Words Jill Dimond , 1995 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Review , August no. 78 1995; (p. 12)
Madeleine St John and Belle and Sebastian : Style and Substance Nikki Lusk , 2014 single work
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 4 April 2014;
The Songs in Her Words Helen Trinca , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 7-8 November 2015; (p. 6)
Last amended 6 Jun 2023 16:01:07
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