A Fence Around the Cuckoo: Text Classics

Description

This first volume of Ruth Park's autobiography is an account of her isolated childhood in the rainforests of New Zealand, her convent education which encouraged her love of words and writing, and the bitter years of the Depression. She then entered the rough-and-tumble world of journalism and began a reluctant correspondence with a young Australian writer. In 1942, Park moved to Sydney and married that writer, D'Arcy Niland. There she would write The Harp in the South, the first of her classic Australian novels. A Fence Around the Cuckoo is the story of one of Australia's best storytellers and how she learnt her craft.

Born in New Zealand in 1917, Ruth Park spent most of her adult life in Australia. She was widely read and well-loved for her books, which were as equally successful for adults as for children. She is best known for the novels The Harp in the South, Poor Man's Orange and Swords and Crowns and Rings, for which she won the 1977 Miles Franklin Award.

'A splendid achievement.' * Sydney Morning Herald * 'Her words sparkle on every page, and her compassion and humour shine throughout the entire book.' * Age * 'One of the best pieces of autobiographical writing in many years...a joy to read.' * Courier Mail * 'An illuminating and entrancing vision of how one twig was bent to incline towards a lifetime of writing.' * Good Weekend *