LADIES’ REST AND WRITING ROOM
Winner of the Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Prize
From the judges:
Two young women, brought up to expect conventional lives, are thrown together in unexpected circumstances. Each has suffered a devastating loss that challenges their belief in life and themselves. It’s rare to come across a work of deep psychological insight conveyed with such verve and
lightness of touch.
Kelly sweeps the reader into the lives and passions of her two central characters and into the bustling city streets of Sydney in the 1920s. A powerfully moving book that sparkles with vitality.
‘Kim Kelly’s spry and endearing period novella … offers an elegant tonic for grief.’ – Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll, Sydney Morning Herald/The Age.
‘Kelly’s book put me in mind almost immediately of Madeleine St John … [Her] evocation of 1920s Sydney is convincingly electric.’ – Bram Presser, A Book For Ants
‘Such a clever, heartfelt story…A journey of loss and profound grief, from both sides of the wealth/poverty track. A story of kindness, compassion and wholly unexpected new beginnings. I was held from start to finish.’ – Robyn Mundy, Cold Coast
‘Offering a delicate balance between grief and trauma, the chaos and exuberance of Sydney at Christmas, 1922, is vividly realised … Kim Kelly is one of our finest Australian writers.’ – Theresa Smith, Theresa Smith Writes
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THE RAT CATCHER: A LOVE STORY
Longlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize 2022
Shortlisted for Viva La Novella 2021
Sydney, 1900. A deadly plague descends upon the city. And a young Irish rat catcher falls in love – with a girl, a rat, and all the books in the public library. The Rat Catcher: A Love Story is a mischievous, fast-paced fable told with an irrepressible love for life, in all its marvellous forms.
‘This treasure of a read is cinematic, romantic, and extraordinarily good fun.’ Frances Macken, author of You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around here.
‘a wonder of a tale — masterfully compressed but endlessly capacious…. Kelly’s elegant storytelling is full of wit and wisdom.’ Wendy James, author of A Little Bird
‘told with sparkling humour reminiscent of Peter Carey’ – Alison Booth, author of The Painting
‘It will charm you, intrigue you and make you smile.’ – Mary-Lou Stephens, author of The Last of the Apple Blossom
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THE TRUTH & ADDY LOEST
Truth is not a destination – it’s a magical ride. The Truth & Addy Loestis a colourful trip through 1980s inner-city Sydney, a tale of music and moonlight, literature and love, and of discovering the only story that really matters is the one you write for yourself.
HER LAST WORDS
A murder, a missing manuscript, and an undying love. From the gritty glamour of Bondi Beach to the cold streets of London, Her Last Words lays bare a literary betrayal, a publishing industry grappling with change, and the truth that, while some crimes might go unpunished, words themselves have a way of enduring – and exacting a justice all their own.
WALKING
Set across two devastating wars and two great romances, Walking is inspired by a true story of medical genius and betrayal. A crisply told tale of bigotry and obsession, love and loss, that charts the path of a young woman finding her feet in the world, and the power of kindness that drives her own ambition.
SUNSHINE
It’s 1921 and three very different, soul-wounded veterans of the Great War find themselves sharing a finger of farmland along the desert’s edge, and not much else. That is, until Grace Lovelee, a battle-hardened nurse, gets to work on them all with her no-nonsense wisdom. Sunshine is a tale of home, hope and healing, of the power of growing life and love, and discovering that we are each other’s greatest gifts.
LADY BIRD & THE FOX
What happens when a hardworking farm girl and a spoilt rich-boy gambler are mistaken for bushrangers on the road to the goldrush? At a breakneck gallop through wild colonial Australia, Lady Bird & The Fox untangles a tale of true identity and blind bigotry, of two headstrong opposites thrown together by fate, their lives entwined by a quest to get back home – and the irresistible forces of love.
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JEWEL SEA
Based on the true story of the loss of the luxury steamship Koombana to a storm off the coast of North-Western Australia in 1912, Jewel Seais a tale of fatal desire, theft and greed – a story of kindred spirits searching for courage and redemption.
WILD CHICORY
A journey from Ireland to Australia in the early 1900s, along threads of love, family, war and peace, Wild Chicory is a slice of ordinary life rich in history, folklore and fairy tale, and a portrait of the precious bond between a granddaughter, Brigid, and her grandmother, Nell.
PAPER DAISIES
A haunting tale of love, murder and misogyny. Against the tumultuous backdrop of Australian Federation and the coming of the Women’s Vote, Paper Daisies is a story of what it means to find moral courage, and of a crime that must be committed to see justice done.
THE BLUE MILE
Against the glittering backdrop of Sydney Harbour, The Blue Mile tells a story of the cruelties of Great Depression poverty, the wild gamble a city took to build a wonder of the world, and the risks the truly brave will take for a chance at life.
THIS RED EARTH
1939, another war is brewing in Europe, and Bernie Cooper is wondering what’s in it for her. From the beaches of Sydney to the dusty heart of the continent, This Red Earth is a love letter to Australia, with all its beauty and terror, and a tale of telling the truth – before it’s too late.
BLACK DIAMONDS
From the foothills of the Blue Mountains to the battlefields of France, comes a story of war and coal. Told with freshness, verve and wit, Black Diamonds is the tale of a fierce young nation, Australia, and two fierce hearts who dare to discover what courage really means.
Praise for Kim Kelly
‘It is uplifting to know that there are people who can write like this, with clarity, a bit of devilment and a hint of a smile. Why can’t more people write like this?’ – The Age
‘alive, full-hearted and shimmering with hope’ – Belinda Castles, Vogel winning author of The River Baptists and Stella longlisted Bluebottle
‘Consummate storytelling. A deeply satisfying page-turner that is sharp, funny and full of knowing detail, all delivered with lashings of love.’ – Tracy Sorensen, critically acclaimed author of Miles Franklin longlisted The Lucky Galah
‘I love this woman’s writing. She has all the words and she weaves them together with love and imagination in a way that just makes my soul sing’ – Theresa Smith Writes
‘marvellous depth and authenticity based on some impressive research, and her characters, plot and fluid prose draw the reader into this world’ – Daily Telegraph
‘colourful, evocative and energetic’ – Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum
‘told with wit, warmth and courage’ – Kylie Mason, The Newtown Review of Books
‘Kim writes like no one else, with a depth of skill few authors achieve’ – Kelly Rimmer, internationally bestselling author of Truths I Never Told You
Kim Kelly 