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'Autumn Laing has long outlived the legendary circle of artists she cultivated in the 1930s. Now "old and skeleton gaunt", she reflects on her tumultuous relationship with the abundantly talented Pat Donlon and the effect it had on her husband, on Pat's wife and the body of work which launched Pat's career. A brilliantly alive and insistently energetic story of love, loyalty and creativity.
Autumn Laing seduces Pat Donlon with her pearly thighs and her lust for life and art. In doing so she not only compromises the trusting love she has with her husband, Arthur, she also steals the future from Pat's young and beautiful wife, Edith, and their unborn child. Fifty-three years later, cantankerous, engaging, unrestrainable 85-year-old Autumn is shocked to find within herself a powerful need for redemption. As she begins to tell her story, she writes, "They are all dead and I am old and skeleton-gaunt. This is where it began..."
'Written with compassion and intelligence, this energetic, funny and wise novel peels back the layers of storytelling and asks what truth has to do with it. Autumn Laing is an unflinchingly intimate portrait of a woman and her time - she is unforgettable.
Source: www.allenandunwin.com/ (Sighted 21/07/2011).
Notes
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Autumn Laing is a work of fiction loosely based on the relationship between Sunday Reed and Sidney Nolan.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
- Dyslexic edition.
Works about this Work
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12 Books Every Australian Should Read
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Geographic [Website] , February 2016; 'Take a literary journey to the interior with these 12 must-read Australian books, representing a cross section of Australian literature, meditating on landscape, history and what makes us Australian.' -
How Too Soft a Sell Can Get a Girl's Back Up
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian , 15 May 2013; (p. 28) - y Autumn Laing by Alex Miller : Notes Victoria : Centre for Adult Education , 2013 Z1933325 2013 single work criticism
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Alex Miller : Autumn Lang. A Comment by Thea Welsh
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , January 2013; -
Beyond the Nation : Australian Literature as World Literature
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Scenes of Reading : Is Australian Literature a World Literature? 2013; (p. 34-46)
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Autumn's Fading Words are Pure and Living Art
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 1-2 October 2011; (p. 20-21)
— Review of Autumn Laing 2011 single work novel -
Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , September vol. 91 no. 3 2011; (p. 25)
— Review of Autumn Laing 2011 single work novel -
Review of the Week
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 9 October 2011; (p. 16)
— Review of Autumn Laing 2011 single work novel -
Passion's Hinterland
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 8 October 2011; (p. 23)
— Review of Autumn Laing 2011 single work novel -
A Space of Its Own Creation
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 335 2011; (p. 9-10)
— Review of Autumn Laing 2011 single work novel -
Leave It to Autumn
2011
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 24 September 2011; (p. 30-31) Alex Miller tells Andrew Stephens that he doesn't think he would have 'had the confidence to do Autumn's voice' without the experience of his friendship with Barrett Reid. -
Alex Miller
2011
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 1-2 October 2011; (p. 30-31) -
e-Words
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 22 - 23 October 2011; (p. 21) Animalia is now available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Autumn Laing is being released in print and digital editions. -
A Pair of Ragged Claws
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 29 - 30 October 2011; (p. 19) A column canvassing current literary news. Discusses Alex Miller's latest novel and a selection of books about horses, racing and the Melbourne Cup -
Fact Feeds Fiction in Revealing Novel
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 12 November 2011; (p. 53)
Awards
- 2013 longlisted International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
- 2012 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards — Fiction Book Award
- 2012 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Fiction
- 2012 longlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 2012 longlisted ASAL Awards — ALS Gold Medal