All That False Instruction
A Spinifex feminist classic, and winner of the Angus and Robertson manuscript prize.
Growing up in a rural working-class home, Maureen Craig rebels against her angry mother, the privileges of her favoured brother and the relentless conformity of 1950s Australia. University promises a new world both terrifying and exhilarating in its challenges. She explores her sexuality and sets out to make a place for herself in the world. Passionate, funny and heartbreaking, this remarkable novel traces a young woman’s turbulent coming of age.
Originally published under the pseudonym Elizabeth Riley. This edition includes an Introduction by Harriet Malinowitz and an Afterword by the author.
2001 | ISBN 9781876756147 | Paperback | 197 x 130 mm | 256 pp
Awards
1975 Angus & Robertson Manuscript Award
Reviews
‘A powerful examination of self and sexuality … a tone reminiscent of Miles Franklin’s Sybylla: self-conscious, dripping with irony, splendidly audacious … surely now a feminist classic.’
–Debra Adelaide, Sydney Morning Herald
‘An explosive mix of raw sanity and wicked humour – a bombshell of a book.’
–Robert Dessaix
Table of Contents
Introduction by Harriet Malinowitz;
PART ONE; In which Maureen comes into the world, her brother hot on her heels; In which Maureen attends a school for young ladies;
PART TWO; In which the landscape acquires a population; Maureen at bay; As easy as opening a door to the air; Maureen against the wall; Cripple Craig; In which Maureen begins to see;
PART THREE; Ladies don't move; The geometry of innocence; The masters make the rules;
PART FOUR; In which Inga returns for a week and Maureen thinks of going for good; In which Maureen reflects on Cleo's limitations and her own; A beginner's approach to normality; Seems to be how we're made; There must be some way out of here; Afterword