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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'It's the 1880s and Marvellous Melbourne is a lavish and raucous city where anything could happen. Eccentric entrepreneur Edward William Cole is building the sprawling Cole's Book Arcade and filling it with whatever amuses him, or supports his favourite causes: a giant squid, a brass band, monkeys, a black man whose skin has turned white, a Chinese tea salon, and of course, hundreds of thousands of books.
'When Edward decides to marry he advertises for a wife in the newspaper, shocking and titillating the whole town. To everyone's surprise he marries his broadsheet bride and the Arcade grows into a monumental success.
'But the 1890s depression hits Melbourne - and Edward - hard, and the death of one of his children leaves him reeling. Grief, corruption and a beautiful, unscrupulous widow all threaten to derail his singular vision. But it's not until he visits Chinatown one night - and his own deeply suppressed past - that the idealist faces his toughest challenge.
'Utopian Man is the story of a man who lives life on his own terms, and leaves behind a remarkable legacy.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Dedication: To W. Turtle, idealist.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
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Constructing Cosmopolitanism, Promoting Humanitarianism : The Marvellous Melbourne of E.W. Cole in Lisa Lang’s Utopian Man (2010)
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , September vol. 32 no. 2 2017;'Lisa Lang’s award-winning Australian novel Utopian Man (2010) reimagines E.W. Cole and his famous Book Arcade in Melbourne in the last decades of the nineteenth century. Running in its central Melbourne location from 1883-1929, in popular discourses Cole’s Book Arcade was, and is, synonymous with nineteenth-century Melbourne itself; its vibrant, eclectic atmosphere seemed to capture the essence of the booming nineteenth-century metropolis. In Lang’s biofiction, the Arcade becomes a lens through which to view Melbourne itself. Cole is sympathetically drawn and his characteristics – his eccentricities, entrepreneurism, philanthropy and idealism – provide a critical contrast with a city increasingly suspicious toward immigrants, as Australia moves toward federation, and toward establishing the White Australia policy. While it is set entirely in the past, the novel’s structural nostalgia – the Arcade and its values are always already lost in this narrative – speaks to a present in which Australia is once again closing its borders. The novel positions itself as witness to Australia’s lost alternative of a tolerant society, one that embraced other views and welcomed a range of immigrants, and which exists today only as memory.' (Publication abstract)
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Melbourne by the Book
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 12 August 2012; (p. 8-9) -
Future in Safe Hands
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 21- 22 May 2011; (p. 28-29) -
A Utopian Man
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , September 2011;
— Review of Utopian Man 2009 single work novel -
Great Expectations
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: Australian Author , December vol. 42 no. 3 2010; (p. 6-9)
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First Strokes of Artistry
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 28 August 2010; (p. 23)
— Review of Night Street 2009 single work novel ; Utopian Man 2009 single work novel -
Review of Utopian Man by Lisa Lang
2010
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Writers Radio, Radio Adelaide. 2000-;
— Review of Utopian Man 2009 single work novel -
Perspectives on History
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 September 2010; (p. 20-21)
— Review of Night Street 2009 single work novel ; Utopian Man 2009 single work novel -
History Made in Melbourne
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 4 September 2010; (p. 20-21)
— Review of Utopian Man 2009 single work novel ; Night Street 2009 single work novel -
Odd Lives Laid Bare
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , September vol. 5 no. 8 2010; (p. 17)
— Review of Utopian Man 2009 single work novel ; Night Street 2009 single work novel ; The Vintage and the Gleaning 2008 single work novel ; Milk Fever 2010 single work novel -
Historical Focus for Vogel Winners
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 18 September 2009; (p. 20) -
Colourful Characters Lead Authors to Vogel Award
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 18 September 2009; (p. 6) -
Haunted Tales
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Overland , Summer no. 201 2010; (p. 38-41) 'If it is possible to assess the current state of Australian literature through a reading of four novels published in September and October 2010...then I'd say Australian fiction is haunted, preoccupied with the past'. p. 38 -
Great Expectations
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: Australian Author , December vol. 42 no. 3 2010; (p. 6-9) -
Future in Safe Hands
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 21- 22 May 2011; (p. 28-29)
Awards
- 2011 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing
- 2011 joint winner The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year
- 2010 special mention The Fellowship of Australian Writers Victoria Inc. National Literary Awards — Barbara Ramsden Award Awarded to the author, Lisa Lang and the publisher's editor, Ali Lavau.
- 2010 highly commended The Fellowship of Australian Writers Victoria Inc. National Literary Awards — FAW Christina Stead Award
- 2010 inaugural winner Western Australian Premier's Book Awards — People's Choice Award
- Melbourne, Victoria,