Cotters' England
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Introduction by Michelle de Kretser
Cotters' England follows the lives of Nellie Cook, sister Peggy Cotter and brother Tom. Set in post-war England, it is a study of politics and betrayal in Nellie's professional and personal life. It is a story of smothered aspirations and dashed hopes, as class politics trap the Cotters and stifle their attempts to break free from the boundaries of the working- and middle-classes.
The book is also an exploration of love and sexuality. An undercurrent of incestuous flirtation and a lesbian affair add further strain to Nellie's relationships with family and friends, driving one of them to suicide. By the renowned author of The Man Who Loved Children, this is the first Stead work to be set wholly in England. It weaves a strange and compelling story that explores the limits of class, politics, lust and passion.
Christina Stead
Christina Stead (1902–1983) was an Australian writer regarded as one of the twentieth century’s master novelists. Stead spent most of her writing life in Europe and the United States, and her varied residences acted as the settings for a number of her novels. She is best known for The Man Who Loved Children (1940), which was praised by author Jonathan Franzen as a “crazy, gorgeous family novel” and “one of the great literary achievements of the twentieth century.” Stead died in her native Australia in 1983.
More by Christina Stead
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