Writing in 2008, Elizabeth Webby observed that, according to the AustLit database, more has been written about Elizabeth Jolley than any other Australian woman novelist. This might be thought extraordinary, given Jolley was 53 years old before she published her first book,
Five Acre Virgin. Between 1976 and 2001, however, she published 5 collections of short stories, 15 novels, a diary, a collection of radio plays, and a book of essays. She was a popular speaker at writers’ festivals in Australia and overseas, won a swag of literary awards, and was generous in giving interviews. She was the subject of a film,
The Nights Belong to the Novelist, and saw several of her books adapted for the stage and, in the case of
The Well, a feature film. A final collection of short pieces,
Learning to3184 words
Citation: Lindsay, Elaine Stuart. "Elizabeth Jolley". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 February 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2395, accessed 25 April 2024.]
