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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Young historian Melvina Kirksley is hired by an all-female publishing company to discover who wrote The Scarlet Rider, Or, A Mystery of the Gold-Diggings. The novel had originally been serialized anonymously in an 1860s newspaper. As she gets closer to the heart of the mystery, she feels the past come alive and begins to question her own identity, both now... and then.
Colin Steel writes in 2001: 'Melvina becomes increasingly estranged from her medical student boyfriend (a not-quite-convincing relationship) and her best friends, but new relationships are formed with a publisher, genealogists and a descendant of one of the real-life Victorian characters. On a number of levels Sussex peels away the past to reveal its links to the present. As the darker forces of Melvina's "possession" become apparent, the innocent academic research becomes a matter of life and death' (SF Commentary No 77, p.55).
Notes
-
Dedication: This book is dedicated to the memory of four doughty Victorian women, my great-grandmothers: Marion Sperring Wilson, Jane Bailiff Fyfe, Emma Melvina Harrison Hearn, Nancy Wardman Sussex.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
The Australian Horror Novel Since 1950
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 112-127) According to James Doig the horror genre 'was overlooked by the popular circulating libraries in Australia.' In this chapter he observes that this 'marginalization of horror reflects both the trepidation felt by the conservative library system towards 'penny dreadfuls,' and the fact that horror had limited popular appeal with the British (and Australian) reading public.' Doig concludes that there is 'no Australian author of horror novels with the same commercial cachet' as authors of fantasy or science fiction. He proposes that if Australian horror fiction wants to compete successfully 'in the long-term it needs to develop a flourishing and vibrant small press contingent prepared to nurture new talent' like the USA and UK small presses.' (Editor's foreword xii) -
Scanners
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , August no. 80 2010; (p. 50)
— Review of Borderline 1996 selected work short story ; Dream Weavers 1996 anthology short story ; The Scarlet Rider 1996 single work novel -
The Romance of Research : An Interview with Lucy Sussex
Van Ikin
(interviewer),
2000
single work
interview
— Appears in: Imago : New Writing , vol. 12 no. 3 2000; (p. 44-50) -
An Eidolon Interview with Lucy Sussex
Steven Paulsen
(interviewer),
1997
single work
interview
— Appears in: Eidolon : The Journal of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy , Autumn no. 24 1997; (p. 22-29) Lucy Sussex discusses her approaches to writing SF and fantasy fiction. -
Koontz Enters the Twilight Zone
1997
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 5 April 1997; (p. C10)
— Review of The Scarlet Rider 1996 single work novel
-
Scanners
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , August no. 80 2010; (p. 50)
— Review of Borderline 1996 selected work short story ; Dream Weavers 1996 anthology short story ; The Scarlet Rider 1996 single work novel -
Books Read Recently
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Scratch Pad 20 , December 1996; (p. 5-7)
— Review of Borderline 1996 selected work short story ; The Scarlet Rider 1996 single work novel ; Dealers in Light and Darkness 1979 selected work short story ; Off Limits : Tales of Alien Sex 1996 anthology short story -
A Form of Script-Tease
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January (1996-1997) no. 187 1996; (p. 68-69)
— Review of The Scarlet Rider 1996 single work novel -
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Aurealis : Australian Fantasy & Science Fiction , no. 18 1996; (p. 75-76)
— Review of The Scarlet Rider 1996 single work novel -
Koontz Enters the Twilight Zone
1997
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 5 April 1997; (p. C10)
— Review of The Scarlet Rider 1996 single work novel -
An Eidolon Interview with Lucy Sussex
Steven Paulsen
(interviewer),
1997
single work
interview
— Appears in: Eidolon : The Journal of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy , Autumn no. 24 1997; (p. 22-29) Lucy Sussex discusses her approaches to writing SF and fantasy fiction. -
The Australian Horror Novel Since 1950
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 112-127) According to James Doig the horror genre 'was overlooked by the popular circulating libraries in Australia.' In this chapter he observes that this 'marginalization of horror reflects both the trepidation felt by the conservative library system towards 'penny dreadfuls,' and the fact that horror had limited popular appeal with the British (and Australian) reading public.' Doig concludes that there is 'no Australian author of horror novels with the same commercial cachet' as authors of fantasy or science fiction. He proposes that if Australian horror fiction wants to compete successfully 'in the long-term it needs to develop a flourishing and vibrant small press contingent prepared to nurture new talent' like the USA and UK small presses.' (Editor's foreword xii) -
A Form of Script-Tease
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January (1996-1997) no. 187 1996; (p. 68-69)
— Review of The Scarlet Rider 1996 single work novel -
The Romance of Research : An Interview with Lucy Sussex
Van Ikin
(interviewer),
2000
single work
interview
— Appears in: Imago : New Writing , vol. 12 no. 3 2000; (p. 44-50)
Awards
- 1997 winner Ditmar Awards — Best Novel
- 1997 shortlisted William L. Crawford Award
- 1997 longlisted James Tiptree, Jr Award
Last amended 28 Sep 2020 16:10:30
Settings:
- 1860s
- 1900-1999
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