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'"Cyclone," his first novel for some years, is a story of conflict and emotional tension that reaches its climax and solution in a cyclonic storm.
'Brian Donnelly's friendship for Ross Halliday brings him from his farm to a seaside Queensland town and to the profitless venture of ferrying cargo on the coast. His wife, Fay, hates the shiftlessness and stagnation of the life they lead, fears Halliday's influence, and comes to believe that their happiness and their children's future are at stake. In this conflict of loyal ties and fears, the trip to Carney's River in the old unseaworthy "Gannet" becomes the crucial point; and the threat of the hurricane crystallizes Fay's anxieties and Brian's problem.'
Source:
'Cyclone', The South-Western News, 7 August 1947, p.6.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also braille.
Works about this Work
-
“Big Wind, He Waiting There” : Vance Palmer’s Cyclones of Apocalypse and Their Power of Revelation
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Etropic , vol. 15 no. 1 2016;'Prior to writing his 1947 novel, Cyclone, Queensland author Vance Palmer drafted out many of his ideas for the story in three earlier short stories: ‘Cyclone’(1932), ‘Big Wind,’ and ‘Tempest,’ both published in 1936. In these stories and the later novel, Palmer develops the cyclone as trope of apocalypse, an unveiling and realization of the new inherent within the destruction of the old. As a result of experiencing both the terror and the mystery of the apocalyptic cyclonic event, Palmer’s characters realize they have transcended fears and inadequacies within themselves, enabling them to re-create new lives and new worlds.
-
Human's Changing Relationship to the Non-Human World
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Climate Change Narratives in Australian Fiction 2014; (p. 41-55) 'The environmental crises the human species faces are urgent. When the climate change literary critics Adam Trexler and Adeline John-Putra argue that climate change calls for a fundamental re-valuation of ourselves, even while it challenges us to put to use the critical cultural tools we have, 77 they are right. A fundamental re-evaluation is needed in face of the urgency, seriousness, complexity, immediacy, duration and global scope of the problems facing the human species. In the previous pages we have looked albeit briefly at some of the key novels addressing climate change scenarios which we can identify in Australian writing. Can the critics help us refine our concepts a little further?' (41) -
Heeding the Warnings : 'Sucking up the Seas' in Vance Palmer’s Cyclone
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Etropic : Electronic Journal of Studies in the Tropics , no. 10 2011; (p. 20-31) 'Climate change literary criticism calls for fundamental re-evalutions of our critical tools. In representations of extreme weather events, Vance Palmer's Cyclone set in North Queensland meets many of the new criterion with its story about the impact of the cyclone on individuals, community and plot. The genesis and inspiration of the novel, its writing, its publication, review and reception can be addressed. The cyclone is seen through the perceptions of different characters. Vance and Nettie Palmer knew many of the people drowned in the 1934 cyclone. Palmer drew on the historical record in his novel, which was published over a decade later. The reception of Cyclone was very limited given it was published locally by Angus & Robertson and had no serious critical response. The environmental imagination has been a powerful force in Australia creative writing and is undervalued in contemporary debates.' (Author's abstract)
-
The Novels
1959
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , July vol. 18 no. 2 1959; (p. 146-172) -
Crisis and Storm
1949
single work
review
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 10 no. 2 1949; (p. 111-112)
— Review of Cyclone 1947 single work novel
-
Quick Looks At New Books
1947
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 23 August 1947; (p. 2)
— Review of Cyclone 1947 single work novel ; Washdirt : A Novel of Old Bendigo 1946 single work novel -
Storm in the Tropics
1947
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australasian Book News and Literary Journal , August vol. 2 no. 2 1947; (p. 59-60)
— Review of Cyclone 1947 single work novel -
Untitled
1947
single work
review
— Appears in: The Observer , 23 August 1947; (p. 144)
— Review of Cyclone 1947 single work novel -
Untitled
1947
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 6 September 1947; (p. 10)
— Review of Cyclone 1947 single work novel -
Untitled
1947
single work
review
— Appears in: Talk , December vol. 2 no. 9 1947; (p. 80)
— Review of Cyclone 1947 single work novel -
Heeding the Warnings : 'Sucking up the Seas' in Vance Palmer’s Cyclone
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Etropic : Electronic Journal of Studies in the Tropics , no. 10 2011; (p. 20-31) 'Climate change literary criticism calls for fundamental re-evalutions of our critical tools. In representations of extreme weather events, Vance Palmer's Cyclone set in North Queensland meets many of the new criterion with its story about the impact of the cyclone on individuals, community and plot. The genesis and inspiration of the novel, its writing, its publication, review and reception can be addressed. The cyclone is seen through the perceptions of different characters. Vance and Nettie Palmer knew many of the people drowned in the 1934 cyclone. Palmer drew on the historical record in his novel, which was published over a decade later. The reception of Cyclone was very limited given it was published locally by Angus & Robertson and had no serious critical response. The environmental imagination has been a powerful force in Australia creative writing and is undervalued in contemporary debates.' (Author's abstract)
-
The Novels
1959
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , July vol. 18 no. 2 1959; (p. 146-172) -
Human's Changing Relationship to the Non-Human World
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Climate Change Narratives in Australian Fiction 2014; (p. 41-55) 'The environmental crises the human species faces are urgent. When the climate change literary critics Adam Trexler and Adeline John-Putra argue that climate change calls for a fundamental re-valuation of ourselves, even while it challenges us to put to use the critical cultural tools we have, 77 they are right. A fundamental re-evaluation is needed in face of the urgency, seriousness, complexity, immediacy, duration and global scope of the problems facing the human species. In the previous pages we have looked albeit briefly at some of the key novels addressing climate change scenarios which we can identify in Australian writing. Can the critics help us refine our concepts a little further?' (41) -
“Big Wind, He Waiting There” : Vance Palmer’s Cyclones of Apocalypse and Their Power of Revelation
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Etropic , vol. 15 no. 1 2016;'Prior to writing his 1947 novel, Cyclone, Queensland author Vance Palmer drafted out many of his ideas for the story in three earlier short stories: ‘Cyclone’(1932), ‘Big Wind,’ and ‘Tempest,’ both published in 1936. In these stories and the later novel, Palmer develops the cyclone as trope of apocalypse, an unveiling and realization of the new inherent within the destruction of the old. As a result of experiencing both the terror and the mystery of the apocalyptic cyclonic event, Palmer’s characters realize they have transcended fears and inadequacies within themselves, enabling them to re-create new lives and new worlds.
- Coast,
- Queensland,
- North Queensland, Queensland,
- 1930-1940
