The Women in Black (Text Classics) - Softcover
"A pocket masterpiece. A jewel."—Hilary Mantel
A classic novel about the women working in the ladies' frocks section of a department store in Sydney in the 1950s. Written by a superb novelist of contemporary manners, The Women in Black is a fairy tale that illuminates the extraordinariness of ordinary lives.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Madeleine St John was born in Sydney. She graduated from Sydney University in 1963 and lived in London for most of the succeeding years, until her death in 2006. The Women in Black is her first novel. She also wrote A Pure Clear Light (1996), The Essence of the Thing (1997), which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Stairway to Paradise (1999).
Bruce Beresford is one of Australia’s best known film and opera directors. His films include The Getting of Wisdom, Driving Miss Daisy and Breaker Morant.
From Publishers Weekly:
Bruce Beresford is one of Australia’s best known film and opera directors. His films include The Getting of Wisdom, Driving Miss Daisy and Breaker Morant.
Although its title suggests mystery and allure, this wry debut instead focuses on the loneliness and ennui of three department store employees. These women, identically attired in black dresses that serve as uniforms, work in the Ladies' Frocks Department at Goode's, a store in Sydney, Australia. Each suffers from long-standing unhappiness revolving one way or another around the opposite sex: Patty is married to "a bastard of the standard-issue variety, neither cruel nor violent, merely insensitive and inarticulate"; Fay has tired of wild parties and longs to settle down with a decent man; Lisa--who keeps her given name, Lesley, secret from the Goode's set--is an intellectually brilliant but mousy teenager whose father believes that women shouldn't attend college. During the frenzied Christmas shopping season, each saleswoman indirectly confronts her problem and attains contentment. Meanwhile, a subplot concerning several glamorous Eastern European emigres adds a certain underground charm. St . John writes in a mannerly, witty style and in spite of her characters' stereotpyical girlishness (i.e., shallow infatuations with pretty "frocks" and "eligible bachelors"), an essentially lighthearted tone sustains this tale.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherText Classics
- Publication date2013
- ISBN 10 192192229X
- ISBN 13 9781921922299
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages256
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 18.04
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Seller Image
The Women in Black (Paperback)
Published by
Text Publishing, Melbourne
(2012)
ISBN 10: 192192229X
ISBN 13: 9781921922299
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. At the very end of the Ladies Frocks Departments, past Cocktail Frocks, there was something very special, something quite, quite wonderful; but it wasnt for everybody: that was the point. Because there, at the very end, there was a lovely arch, on which was written in curly letters Model Gowns.Written by a superb novelist of contemporary manners, The Women in Black is a fairytale which illuminates the extraordinariness of ordinary lives. The women in black are run off their feet, what with the Christmas rush and the summer sales that follow. But its Sydney in the 1950s, and theres still just enough time left on a hot and frantic day to dream and schemeBy the time the last marked-down frock has been sold, most of the staff of the Ladies Cocktail section at F. G. Goodes have been launched into slightly different careers. With the lightest touch and the most tender of comic instincts, Madeleine St John conjures a vanished summer of innocence. The Women in Black is a great novel, a lost Australian classic. Written by a superb novelist of contemporary manners, this is a fairytale which illuminates the extraordinariness of ordinary lives. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781921922299
Buy New
US$ 18.04
Convert currency
Seller Image
The Women in Black (Paperback)
Published by
Text Publishing, Melbourne
(2012)
ISBN 10: 192192229X
ISBN 13: 9781921922299
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. At the very end of the Ladies Frocks Departments, past Cocktail Frocks, there was something very special, something quite, quite wonderful; but it wasnt for everybody: that was the point. Because there, at the very end, there was a lovely arch, on which was written in curly letters Model Gowns.Written by a superb novelist of contemporary manners, The Women in Black is a fairytale which illuminates the extraordinariness of ordinary lives. The women in black are run off their feet, what with the Christmas rush and the summer sales that follow. But its Sydney in the 1950s, and theres still just enough time left on a hot and frantic day to dream and schemeBy the time the last marked-down frock has been sold, most of the staff of the Ladies Cocktail section at F. G. Goodes have been launched into slightly different careers. With the lightest touch and the most tender of comic instincts, Madeleine St John conjures a vanished summer of innocence. The Women in Black is a great novel, a lost Australian classic. Written by a superb novelist of contemporary manners, this is a fairytale which illuminates the extraordinariness of ordinary lives. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781921922299
Buy New
US$ 15.33
Convert currency
Seller Image
The Women in Black (Paperback)
Published by
Text Publishing, Melbourne
(2012)
ISBN 10: 192192229X
ISBN 13: 9781921922299
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. At the very end of the Ladies Frocks Departments, past Cocktail Frocks, there was something very special, something quite, quite wonderful; but it wasnt for everybody: that was the point. Because there, at the very end, there was a lovely arch, on which was written in curly letters Model Gowns.Written by a superb novelist of contemporary manners, The Women in Black is a fairytale which illuminates the extraordinariness of ordinary lives. The women in black are run off their feet, what with the Christmas rush and the summer sales that follow. But its Sydney in the 1950s, and theres still just enough time left on a hot and frantic day to dream and schemeBy the time the last marked-down frock has been sold, most of the staff of the Ladies Cocktail section at F. G. Goodes have been launched into slightly different careers. With the lightest touch and the most tender of comic instincts, Madeleine St John conjures a vanished summer of innocence. The Women in Black is a great novel, a lost Australian classic. Written by a superb novelist of contemporary manners, this is a fairytale which illuminates the extraordinariness of ordinary lives. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781921922299
Buy New
US$ 17.34
Convert currency