Seven shots ring out in the silence of Victoria’s rolling Barrabool Hills. As the final recoil echoes through the paddocks, a revered sheep-breeding dynasty comes to a bloody and inglorious end. No one could have anticipated the orgy of violence that wiped out three generations of the Wettenhall family, much less the lurid scandals about Darcy Wettenhall, the man behind the world famous Stanbury sheep stud, that would emerge from the aftermath. Almost three decades later, the web of secrets and lies that led to this bizarre and seemingly motiveless murder spree are unravelled with the help of Bob Perry, Darcy Wettenhall’s secret lover for a decade prior to his murder. From the bucolic majesty, privilege and snobbery of the Western District’s prized pastoral lands and dynasties to the bleak, loveless underworld of orphanages, rodeo stables and homeless shelters, The Devil’s Grip is a courageous and thought-provoking meditation on the fragility of reputation, the folly of deception and the power of shame. Praise for The Devil’s Grip ‘A remarkable piece of work. It is a strange, unusual and beautiful book with an incredibly unique setting. I don't think I've read anything quite like it. It is compulsive reading. True crime. Memoir. History. How do you live a life honestly and with dignity? It's difficult to categorise because it traverses so many genres. But it WORKS.’ Matthew Condon, author of the Three Crooked Kings trilogy ‘On its face this is the story of a family steeped in the pursuit of the perfect ram, but beneath the surface lies a riveting and ribald tale of lust, loss, manipulation, unbridled ambition and ultimately murder.’ Mark Tedeschi AM QC and author of Eugenia, Kidnapped and Murder at Myall Creek ‘An unforgettable, courageous and deeply tragic local story which manages to become a universal tale’ Gregory Day, author of Archipelago of Souls and A Sand Archive ‘It’s got it all: sex, domestic violence, ‘the land’ – such an important concept resonating in the Australian mind – land-holders and property, privilege, prejudice, skulduggery and murder!’ David Bradford, author of The Gunners’ Doctor and Tell Me I’m Okay
The son of a British prostitute is adopted by an Australian ballet dancer who takes the boy with him to Sydney. The dancer is a homosexual and when the boy discovers that he himself is also gay, incest follows, leading to the father's death.
Virgil Mann is an Australian editor working in London who, via an unseemly brush with fate, has just become a publisher. Good luck? Bad luck? It's too early to tell. One thing is certain-nothing in his past has prepared him for the events about to unfold. Delia Lloyd is on the precipice and her days as a TV anchor are numbered while her CEO spouse, Anthony, has a dirty little secret that could ruin them all. Their son Wesley is ready to blow the world apart with teen angst while in sun scorched Ibiza, a gold-digging beauty and the heir to Britain's largest retail fortune are about to bring the party season to a shocking and chilling end. What could one blow-in Aussie have to do with all these events and personalities? More than he'd ever expected and far more than he would like! It seems everyone in Britain wants to be a winner but there are no prizes for second. Life's luxuries are plentiful at the top of the food chain for those who get there, but is it really worth the struggle? In a world where nothing is what it seems, everyone and everything is up for grabs. In the autumn of 2000 many species are endangered - and it seems truth is the rarest and most threatened of them all. Steel yourself, gird your loins, up your medication and roll with the punches in the wildest literary rollick since Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr Ripley and the most harrowing tale of tainted love since Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal.
A novel in two parts Part I: Je Louse, 1999 "Beware of ex-lovers with quills", warns the preface of Elliot Bernard's new novel Je Louse. Blaise spent six torrid years with the world-famous novelist, but left him for Woodrow. Now it would seem that Elliot Bernard lives happily with another man in New York. But could the author be seeking revenge upon his previous lover in his latest roman à clef? Blaise feels compelled to read the book — however painful it may prove to be — and his jealous lover doesn't like it one bit, no sir-ee. But neither Blaise nor Woodrow know what lies in store for them. Sometimes books can change your life forever; some can even blow your mind. Je Louse is going to do a nice job of both. Part II: Gridiron, 2004 Seventy-year-old Rose Elliot sits in her son's apartment contemplating the release of his autobiography. Rose never wanted to be in a book, but like it or not, she's in this one. She's a simple country woman who never quite fathomed why the Lord blessed her with a son like Elliot Bernard. Cake baking and needlepoint are much more her forté. "I think Gridiron was his greatest achievement", someone says with a laugh. Rose overhears and wonders what they're talking about. She couldn't remember a book with that title, and Elliot always hated sport as a boy. Having a son who wrote books like Elliot's has not been an easy thing for Rose. Still, she'd like to know more about Gridiron. Be careful Rose — there are some things a mother has the right not to know. Gridiron is one of those things.
Murder, ghosts, and runway modeling. The basic ingredients: a wealthy 34-year-old gym junkie doctor with a taste for steroids; a pompous and tarnished English ex-pat with a master's in expediency; a successful, sexy young Vietnamese artist; a glamorous if somewhat nosy female neighbour; a gorgeous, ambitious young country stud of uncertain sexuality; the ghost of a Jewish architect from the 1930s ... and a withered society hostess with a secret. Beneath all the fun and glamour, this is really a story about the nature of prejudice and how people might attempt to defy it by accumulating wealth or scrambling for respectable positions. Yet, all are ultimately vulnerable.
The second part, "Gridiron," is told from the perspective of Barnard's long-suffering mother Rose. Though Rose recognizes her son's importance as a novelist, she has always been uncomfortable with his flamboyant lifestyle. Now, at his funeral, she is forced to confront the past that created the writer Elliot Barnard from her small-town son, Berni, a figure she has always loved but never understood."--BOOK JACKET.
Moralla, a fading seaside town on the 'beautifully uncivilised' Sapphire Coast of New South Wales, has won Australia's Tidy Towns award for two years running. Now Rebecca Moore--the most beautiful, talented girl in town--is dead and there's nothing tidy about it. It seems everyone in this sleepy hollow is breaking bad and something has to be done. Why was she on the Princes Highway at four a.m.? What could have lured her there and how will the town cope with the series of events set in motion by her shocking departure? When the maverick foundation Rural Liberties sets up unconventional sexual retreats on Moralla's fringes and TV's longest-running reality show recruits the town's number two beauty, the stage is set for one of the most diabolical and outrageous coups ever. If what happens in Moralla stays in Moralla, then what will the new arrivals bring and what will they leave behind? Rebecca is watching from the wings as the town's moral compass goes haywire and a bold new era of debauchery and enlightenment is set to begin.
Murder, ghosts, and runway modeling. The basic ingredients: a wealthy 34-year-old gym junkie doctor with a taste for steroids; a pompous and tarnished English ex-pat with a master's in expediency; a successful, sexy young Vietnamese artist; a glamorous if somewhat nosy female neighbour; a gorgeous, ambitious young country stud of uncertain sexuality; the ghost of a Jewish architect from the 1930s ... and a withered society hostess with a secret. Beneath all the fun and glamour, this is really a story about the nature of prejudice and how people might attempt to defy it by accumulating wealth or scrambling for respectable positions. Yet, all are ultimately vulnerable.
A novel in two parts Part I: Je Louse, 1999 "Beware of ex-lovers with quills", warns the preface of Elliot Bernard's new novel Je Louse. Blaise spent six torrid years with the world-famous novelist, but left him for Woodrow. Now it would seem that Elliot Bernard lives happily with another man in New York. But could the author be seeking revenge upon his previous lover in his latest roman à clef? Blaise feels compelled to read the book — however painful it may prove to be — and his jealous lover doesn't like it one bit, no sir-ee. But neither Blaise nor Woodrow know what lies in store for them. Sometimes books can change your life forever; some can even blow your mind. Je Louse is going to do a nice job of both. Part II: Gridiron, 2004 Seventy-year-old Rose Elliot sits in her son's apartment contemplating the release of his autobiography. Rose never wanted to be in a book, but like it or not, she's in this one. She's a simple country woman who never quite fathomed why the Lord blessed her with a son like Elliot Bernard. Cake baking and needlepoint are much more her forté. "I think Gridiron was his greatest achievement", someone says with a laugh. Rose overhears and wonders what they're talking about. She couldn't remember a book with that title, and Elliot always hated sport as a boy. Having a son who wrote books like Elliot's has not been an easy thing for Rose. Still, she'd like to know more about Gridiron. Be careful Rose — there are some things a mother has the right not to know. Gridiron is one of those things.
Seven shots ring out in the silence of Victoria’s rolling Barrabool Hills. As the final recoil echoes through the paddocks, a revered sheep-breeding dynasty comes to a bloody and inglorious end. No one could have anticipated the orgy of violence that wiped out three generations of the Wettenhall family, much less the lurid scandals about Darcy Wettenhall, the man behind the world famous Stanbury sheep stud, that would emerge from the aftermath. Almost three decades later, the web of secrets and lies that led to this bizarre and seemingly motiveless murder spree are unravelled with the help of Bob Perry, Darcy Wettenhall’s secret lover for a decade prior to his murder. From the bucolic majesty, privilege and snobbery of the Western District’s prized pastoral lands and dynasties to the bleak, loveless underworld of orphanages, rodeo stables and homeless shelters, The Devil’s Grip is a courageous and thought-provoking meditation on the fragility of reputation, the folly of deception and the power of shame. Praise for The Devil’s Grip ‘A remarkable piece of work. It is a strange, unusual and beautiful book with an incredibly unique setting. I don't think I've read anything quite like it. It is compulsive reading. True crime. Memoir. History. How do you live a life honestly and with dignity? It's difficult to categorise because it traverses so many genres. But it WORKS.’ Matthew Condon, author of the Three Crooked Kings trilogy ‘On its face this is the story of a family steeped in the pursuit of the perfect ram, but beneath the surface lies a riveting and ribald tale of lust, loss, manipulation, unbridled ambition and ultimately murder.’ Mark Tedeschi AM QC and author of Eugenia, Kidnapped and Murder at Myall Creek ‘An unforgettable, courageous and deeply tragic local story which manages to become a universal tale’ Gregory Day, author of Archipelago of Souls and A Sand Archive ‘It’s got it all: sex, domestic violence, ‘the land’ – such an important concept resonating in the Australian mind – land-holders and property, privilege, prejudice, skulduggery and murder!’ David Bradford, author of The Gunners’ Doctor and Tell Me I’m Okay
The son of a British prostitute is adopted by an Australian ballet dancer who takes the boy with him to Sydney. The dancer is a homosexual and when the boy discovers that he himself is also gay, incest follows, leading to the father's death.
Virgil Mann is an Australian editor working in London who, via an unseemly brush with fate, has just become a publisher. Good luck? Bad luck? It's too early to tell. One thing is certain-nothing in his past has prepared him for the events about to unfold. Delia Lloyd is on the precipice and her days as a TV anchor are numbered while her CEO spouse, Anthony, has a dirty little secret that could ruin them all. Their son Wesley is ready to blow the world apart with teen angst while in sun scorched Ibiza, a gold-digging beauty and the heir to Britain's largest retail fortune are about to bring the party season to a shocking and chilling end. What could one blow-in Aussie have to do with all these events and personalities? More than he'd ever expected and far more than he would like! It seems everyone in Britain wants to be a winner but there are no prizes for second. Life's luxuries are plentiful at the top of the food chain for those who get there, but is it really worth the struggle? In a world where nothing is what it seems, everyone and everything is up for grabs. In the autumn of 2000 many species are endangered - and it seems truth is the rarest and most threatened of them all. Steel yourself, gird your loins, up your medication and roll with the punches in the wildest literary rollick since Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr Ripley and the most harrowing tale of tainted love since Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal.
Writing the city is a three year public art project by Lisa Anderson based on writers' stories about Sydney. These artworks invite you to experience and imagine stories of the city through playful encounters with words on billboards, cranes, the internet and even written in the sky.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.