Patrick White, A Fringe of Leaves

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A Fringe of Leaves

was Patrick White’s (1912-1990) first published novel after he received the Nobel Prize in 1973. Even though he appears to have found the aftermath of the prize very heavy and time-consuming, White’s biographer, David Marr, thinks that he also benefited from it: “Yet in ways he could never confess, White found he enjoyed being a great man. The Nobel gave him freedom, power and money. He used them all” (545).

When the novel finally came off the press in 1976, the author had been working on it for many years. In the past there had been talks of making an opera based on it, but nothing came of it in the end, and for some time White was both disillusioned and uncertain about the future of his novel. Marr describes his feelings thus: “A Fringe of Leaves had been

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Citation: Berg, Mari-Ann. "A Fringe of Leaves". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 October 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7125, accessed 24 April 2024.]

7125 A Fringe of Leaves 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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