Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko
About Melissa Lucashenko
Melissa Lucashenko is a Goorie (Aboriginal) author of Bundjalung and European heritage. Her first novel was published in 1997 and since then her work has received acclaim in many literary awards. Killing Darcy won the Royal Blind Society Award and was shortlisted for an Aurealis award. Her sixth novel, Too Much Lip, won the 2019 Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Queensland Premier’s Award for a work of State Significance. It was also shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Fiction, the Stella Prize, two Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, two Queensland Literary Awards and two NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Melissa is a Walkley Award winner for her non-fiction, and a founding member of human rights organisation Sisters Inside. She writes about ordinary Australians and the extraordinary lives they lead. Her latest book is Edenglassie.
Quote from Melissa Lucashenko
“I am thrilled and delighted to be shorlisted for the 2024 ARA Historical Novel Prize. All my previous books have contained some historical elements, but Edenglassie is my first foray into historical fiction proper. I never dreamed shifting genres would have this wonderful result. The ARA Prize is a powerful tool to help shift the Australian national narrative towards a truer history, one which includes all people on this continent.”
About Edenglassie
In this epic novel set in Brisbane when First Nations people still outnumber the colonists, award-winning Goorie author Melissa Lucashenko tells two extraordinary stories set five generations apart.
When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Edenglassie, their saltwater people still outnumber the British. As colonial unrest peaks, Mulanyin dreams of taking his bride home to Yugambeh Country, but his plans for independence collide with white justice.
Two centuries later, fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny. Together they care for obstinate centenarian Granny Eddie, and sparks fly, but not always in the right direction. What nobody knows is how far the legacies of the past will reach into their modern lives.
In this brilliant epic, Melissa Lucashenko torches Queensland’s colonial myths, while reimagining an Australian future.
Judges' comments
Melissa Lucashenko’s Edenglassie is a fiercely original exploration of Australia’s past and its enduring consequences. Lucashenko’s deft handling of dual timelines illuminates the brutal realities of colonisation while celebrating the resilience of Indigenous cultures. Written with the wit, heart and intelligence that define her work, the novel’s virtuoso storytelling, nuanced characterisation and deep emotional insights make Edenglassie a standout. The climactic ending is a powerful convergence of the novel’s twin threads, offering an intensely moving, revelatory moment that leaves readers to reflect on the impact of history and the possibility of healing and renewal. A bold, timely work that enriches the landscape of historical fiction.
