Fairyland: Text Classics

Sumner Locke Elliott was born in Sydney. His mother was the writer Helena Sumner Locke.

She died of eclampsia the day after his birth, and the boy was raised by his aunts. It won the Miles Franklin Award in , was translated into a number of languages and became an international bestseller.

• Revelation (MetalMagic Book 2)!
• Spaniens Beteiligung am Irak-Krieg und die Theorie des Demokratischen Friedens (German Edition);
• .

Elliott wrote ten novels in all. He won the Patrick White Literary Award in After a lifetime of concealing his homosexuality, he spent his final years living with his partner Whitfield Cook. You can download Apple Books from the App Store. Overview Music Video Charts. Opening the iTunes Store.

It is, essentially, a bildungsroman of a gay man living at a time when homosexuality was not only considered morally wrong, it was against the law. Told in the third person in a forthright, engaging style, Fairyland is one of those books that is a delight to read despite the repressive setting. There are scenes of quiet joy, little moments when you realise that Seaton is making his way in the world, forging a successful career for himself and occasionally finding romantic encounters in the unlikeliest of places. But this is often underpinned by the knowledge that he is unable to truly express himself, forever on guard in case the wrong person discovers his secret, for which there will be dire consequences.

There are failed love affairs with men and women and intriguing friendships, occasional scenes of drunkenness and bad behaviour, but Seaton is always honourable and principled in his relationships with others. In one furious outburst, he admonishes an ex-lover for his abominable behaviour towards a young woman:. I bought it immediately after I read Careful, He Might Hear You last year, because I loved that book so much and was keen to read more by this author.

LOL I quoted the same passage in my review https: I should have checked. Like Liked by 1 person. The author must be a similar age to Patrick White who came of age in similar circumstances — his brutal honesty in the Twyborn Affair springs to mind.

Book reviews of mainly modern & contemporary fiction

I remember becoming aware of gay men in the late sixties when it was still illegal, but largely accepted, at uni anyway. In the introduction by Dennis Altman, he draws comparisons between White and Elliott; they were contemporaries with similiar life stories but barely knew each other.

Elliott won the Patrick White Award in A great review, Lisa… I must have missed it first time round… I thought this was a hugely impressive book and I felt so much for Seaton, denied the chance to lead a more fulfilling life. And yes, that set piece at the airport…what a hoot!

I love that he just thought the plane would delay take off so he could take his time sourcing the money to pay his excess baggage fees. What a different world it was back then in so many different ways!

It was such a surprise, to discover that an author I had thought was a one-hit wonder, had actually written this terrific book as well. Like Liked by 1 person. Lisa Hill on July 3, at 8: You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Twitter account.

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.

Hardback Editions

Learn how your comment data is processed. For details of the CAL licence for educational institutions contact: All inquiries should be made to the copyright owner Lisa Hill at anzlitloversatbigponddotcom or as attributed on individual blog posts. As I wrote in my review on GoodReads: