Carmel Bird
Personal Information
Description
Carmel Bird was born in 1940 in Launceston, Tasmania, and later educated at the University of Tasmania. She travelled and lived in Europe and the USA for a time before returning to Australia to live in Melbourne. Her novels The Bluebird Cafe in 1991, White Garden in 1996, and Red Shoes in 1999 were all shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. - [Middle Miss]
Books
The white garden
In March 1941, Virginia Woolf filled her pockets with stones and drowned herself in England's River Ouse. Her body was found three weeks later. What seemed like a tragic ending at the time was, in fact, just the beginning of a mystery. . . .Six decades after Virginia Woolf's death, landscape designer Jo Bellamy has come to Sissinghurst Castle for two reasons: to study the celebrated White Garden created by Woolf's lover Vita Sackville-West and to recover from the terrible wound of her grandfather's unexplained suicide. In the shadow of one of England's most famous castles, Jo makes a shocking find: Woolf's last diary, its first entry dated the day after she allegedly killed herself.If authenticated, Jo's discovery could shatter everything historians believe about Woolf's final hours. But when the Woolf diary is suddenly stolen, Jo's quest to uncover the truth will lead her on a perilous journey into the tumultuous inner life of a literary icon whose connection to the White Garden ultimately proved devastating. Rich with historical detail, The White Garden is an enthralling novel of literary suspense that explores the many ways the past haunts the present--and the dark secrets that lurk beneath the surface of the most carefully tended garden.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The essential Bird
A landmark selection of outstanding stories from one of Australia's finest writers Carmel Bird is acknowledged as one of the masters of short story writing in Australia. She is one of the most exciting, original and electrifying writers around. this collection brings together the best of her short stories to date. Stories to beguile, bedazzle, disturb and amuse. Stories that nudge reality's farthest borders, explore history's darkest moments, and redefine the human spirit's infinite capacity for wonder - and love. through the shimmering veil of fiction, Carmel Bird gives us a world that is both whimsical and profound, and unquestionably her own. 'I think Carmel Bird's stories are terrific, and the first thing any review should say is, simply, buy them.' Sydney Morning Herald 'These short stories are of the rare sort that you should avoid reading alone. They are about people we could never have guessed were so loveable.' The Australian