Jessica Anderson (writer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jessica Anderson
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Anderson in 1984
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| Born | Jessica Margaret Queale 25 September 1916 Gayndah, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 9 July 2010 (aged 93) Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Novelist, short story writer |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Period | 1963–1994 |
| Notable works | Tirra Lirra by the River, The Impersonators |
| Notable awards | Miles Franklin Literary Award 1978 Tirra Lirra by the River 1980 The Impersonators New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards 1978 The Impersonators |
Jessica Margaret Anderson (born Queale; 25 September 1916 – 9 July 2010) was a famous Australian writer. She wrote many novels and short stories.
Jessica Anderson was born in Gayndah, Australia. She lived most of her life in Sydney, except for a few years in London. She started her writing career by creating short stories for newspapers. She also wrote scripts for radio shows.
She began writing novels later in life, publishing her first book at age 47. Her early novels did not get much attention. But her fourth novel, Tirra Lirra by the River, published in 1978, made her very well-known.
This book is still her most famous work. However, other novels like The Impersonators (1980) and Stories from the Warm Zone and Sydney Stories (1987) also won awards. Jessica Anderson won the Miles Franklin Literary Award twice. Her books were published in Britain and the United States. She passed away in Sydney in 2010 after a stroke. She was the mother of Australian screenwriter Laura Jones.
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Growing Up in Australia
Jessica Anderson was born Jessica Margaret Queale in Gayndah, Queensland, on 25 September 1916. Her parents were Charles James Queale and Alice Queale. Her father, Charles, was born in Australia. He came from a family of farmers. He worked for the Queensland Department of Agriculture.
Her mother, Alice, was born in England. She moved to Queensland when she was three years old. Alice was a music teacher's daughter and played the violin. She also worked in public service and joined the Queensland labour movement. This is where she met Charles.
Jessica was the youngest of four children. She had an older brother, Alan, and two older sisters, Vida Joan and Patricia. Her sisters passed away when they were still quite young.
When Jessica was five, her family moved from Gayndah to Brisbane. They moved so their children could go to better schools. Her father, Charles, took an office job in Brisbane's CBD.
The family lived near Yeronga Memorial Park. Jessica started school at Yeronga State School. She found school difficult because she had a speech problem. Her parents decided to teach her at home for a year. She also went to speech therapy. Even with these efforts, she had a slight stammer her whole life.
After primary school, she went to Brisbane State High School. Then she studied art at Brisbane Technical College Art School. Her father passed away when she was just sixteen. This was a very sad time for her and her family.
Jessica had mixed feelings about Brisbane. She felt it was a bit old-fashioned. She wanted to be an architect, but it seemed impossible for a girl in Brisbane at that time.
Becoming a Professional Writer
In 1935, at age 18, Jessica Anderson moved to Sydney. She felt more connected to Sydney, where she spent most of her adult life. She worked many different jobs to support herself. These included painting slides, designing electric signs, and working in shops and factories. She used her art school training in some of these jobs.
She lived with friends in old mansions near the harbour in Potts Point. Life was not easy because the city was still recovering from The Great Depression. She remembered that "Times were very hard," but also that "People were poor, but very free."
Jessica started writing for magazines and newspapers to earn money. She often used different names. She later began writing for commercial radio. She became very good at writing radio plays. This experience helped her write the detailed conversations in her novels.
In Sydney, she met her first husband, Ross McGill. They married in 1940. Ross was an artist. Sadly, most of his artworks were destroyed in a fire.
In 1937, Jessica and Ross moved to London for a short time. Jessica worked as a researcher and typist. Ross worked as a layout artist and painted in his free time. Some people thought her novel Tirra Lirra by the River was about her time in London. But Jessica said that while her characters had parts of her in them, none were completely about her own life.
In 1940, they returned to Sydney. During the war, Jessica worked picking fruit in the Australian Women's Land Army. Her only child, Laura Jones, was born in 1946. Laura is now a film and TV writer in Australia.
Her First Novels
After 14 years, Jessica's first marriage ended. In 1955, she married Leonard Culbert Anderson. Being more financially stable after her second marriage allowed her to finally write a novel.
An Ordinary Lunacy
She started her first novel, An Ordinary Lunacy, when she was in her late thirties. It was published in 1963, when she was 47. The book was first planned as a radio play. The story is about a lawyer named David Byfield and a woman named Isobel Purdy, who is accused of murder. The novel explores love from the viewpoints of three women.
Jessica felt her novel might not be published in Australia. So, she sent it to publishers in London and New York. It was published there and received good reviews. Jessica modestly called it "a good start."
The Last Man's Head
Her second published novel, The Last Man's Head, came out in 1970. It's about a detective, Alec Probyn, who tries to solve a murder. He suspects his brother-in-law, Robbie Maciver. The story becomes a psychological thriller when Probyn kills Robbie. This book also features strong female characters who challenge their social roles. Publishers sometimes wrongly called it a simple crime novel.
The Commandant
Jessica Anderson's third novel was her favorite. It was The Commandant, published in 1975. This was her only historical fiction book. It is based on the true story of the murder of Captain Patrick Logan, a harsh prison leader.
The story is told from the view of Frances O'Beirne, Logan's young sister-in-law. Frances is a made-up character, but most others are based on real people. Jessica created Frances to share her own thoughts in the story. Publishers also packaged this book wrongly, making it look like a romance novel. Jessica found this very disappointing.
Later Success and Novels
Jessica Anderson's second marriage ended in 1976. By this time, she was a known novelist, and her books were moderately successful.
Tirra Lirra by the River
Her biggest success came in 1978 with Tirra Lirra by the River. The title comes from a poem by Tennyson called "The Lady of Shalott". The poem is about a female artist who faces a sad end when she tries to leave her isolated artistic life.
The novel tells the story of Nora Porteous. Nora is a creative woman who doesn't realize she's an artist. She struggles to find her art. After living away for 30 years, an elderly Nora returns to Brisbane, where she grew up. The book is Nora's reflections on her life. Nora lived through World War I, World War II, and The Great Depression. In her time, artists were expected to live elsewhere. Nora tries to hide her artistic self to fit in.
The novel started as a shorter story that won an award. Publishers asked Jessica to make it longer, which she did. In 1978, Tirra Lirra won the Australian Natives' Association Literary Award and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. This is Australia's most important literary award. Jessica thought its success was partly because it was "easier to read than most of my others."
The Impersonators
Jessica Anderson's fifth novel, The Impersonators, was published in 1980. It won her the Miles Franklin Literary Award for a second time. It also won the Christina Stead Fiction Award in 1981. The book was called The Only Daughter in the United States. It's about Sylvia Foley, who returns to Australia after 20 years in England. She believes possessions and marriage limit freedom. She finds her Australian relatives are bound by these things, making them "impersonators."
Stories from the Warm Zone and Sydney Stories
In 1987, Anderson published Stories from the Warm Zone and Sydney Stories. The book has two parts. The first part shares stories from Anderson's childhood, using different names for her family. The second part describes various lives and relationships in Sydney. The book was well-received and won The Age Book of the Year in 1987.
Taking Shelter
Her sixth novel, Taking Shelter, was published in 1989. It is set in Sydney in 1986. The story focuses on 21-year-old Beth Jeams and her relationships. Beth moves to Sydney to stay with her cousin. She is engaged to a lawyer, Miles, but he later tells her he is gay. Beth then meets Marcus Pirie. They discover they met as children in Rome. When Beth becomes pregnant, they move into a house owned by Juliet McCracken, who helps many characters in the novel.
One of the Wattle Birds
One of the Wattle Birds, published in 1994, was Jessica Anderson's seventh and final novel. It takes place in Sydney and covers three days in the life of Cecily Ambruss. The novel reveals that these three days are Cecily's way of dealing with her mother's death a year earlier. Cecily's mother died of breast cancer while Cecily was on holiday. Cecily tries to understand why her mother didn't tell her about the illness. She also wonders why her mother's will said Cecily must marry to inherit. The book also explores the process of writing, as Cecily is a writer herself.
Jessica Anderson passed away in Sydney on 9 July 2010, at the age of 93, after a stroke. She is survived by her daughter, Laura Jones, Laura's husband, and their daughter.
Starting Later in Life
Jessica Anderson started her career as a novelist later in life. Many other Australian female writers, like Elizabeth Jolley and Olga Masters, also began publishing when they were older. This was often because of family duties, work, and not having enough money.
Jessica Anderson said that when she was married and writing at home, her main job was taking care of the house. She didn't feel she needed to be in a workplace. Some people think her success was also delayed because she was modest about her talents. She once wrote that "those skills we learn too late" are "unwilling servants."
Winning awards was encouraging for her. But she also said that the success of Tirra Lirra and The Impersonators made her feel less private. She found it challenging to do interviews. She almost wished she had kept writing under a different name.
Even with her late start, Jessica Anderson's career as a novelist lasted three decades. She wrote eight highly praised books. Today, only Tirra Lirra by the River is still in print.
A special plaque honoring Jessica Anderson's writing is part of the Sydney Writers Walk.
See also
In Spanish: Jessica Anderson para niños
