Arabella Edge
Encyclopedia
Arabella Edge is a writer and novelist whose first work, The Company, received a 2001 Commonwealth Writers Prize and was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award
.
, Australia in 1992 and worked as an editor for several consumer illustrated magazines. Her short tales appeared in the literary illustrated magazines Westerly and Ulitarra. In 2002 Edge relocated from Sydney to the small township of Bicheno, Tasmania
to work on her second novel.
based around the wreck of the Batavia
on its maiden voyage
off the Western Australia
n coast. The book was shortlisted for the 2001 Miles Franklin Award, and won the 2001 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book in the Southeast Asia/South Pacific region.
A second novel, The God of Spring was published in 2005. Also a work of historical fiction, the novel is set during the French Revolution
and based on the life of artist Théodore Géricault
as he researches and completes his controversial painting, The Raft of the Medusa.
Miles Franklin Award
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ...
.
Early life
Edge graduated with an English Literature degree from Bristol University. She moved to SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia in 1992 and worked as an editor for several consumer illustrated magazines. Her short tales appeared in the literary illustrated magazines Westerly and Ulitarra. In 2002 Edge relocated from Sydney to the small township of Bicheno, Tasmania
Bicheno, Tasmania
Bicheno is a town on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia, 185 km north-east of Hobart on the Tasman Highway, with a population of 640. It is part of the municipality of Glamorgan/Spring Bay...
to work on her second novel.
Major works
Her first novel, The Company, was published in 2000 and was a work of historical fictionHistorical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
based around the wreck of the Batavia
Batavia (ship)
Batavia was a ship of the Dutch East India Company . It was built in Amsterdam in 1628, and armed with 24 cast iron cannons and a number of bronze guns. Batavia was shipwrecked on her maiden voyage, and was made famous by the subsequent mutiny and massacre that took place among the survivors...
on its maiden voyage
Maiden voyage
The maiden voyage of a ship, aircraft or other craft is the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it....
off the Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
n coast. The book was shortlisted for the 2001 Miles Franklin Award, and won the 2001 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book in the Southeast Asia/South Pacific region.
A second novel, The God of Spring was published in 2005. Also a work of historical fiction, the novel is set during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and based on the life of artist Théodore Géricault
Théodore Géricault
Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault was a profoundly influential French artist, painter and lithographer, known for The Raft of the Medusa and other paintings...
as he researches and completes his controversial painting, The Raft of the Medusa.
Awards
| The Miles Franklin Award | The Company, shortlisted 2001 |
| Commonwealth Writers' Prize South East Asia and South Pacific Region | The Company, winner 2001 Best First Book Award |
| Herodotus Awards for Historical Mystery | The Company, winner 2001 Best International Book Award |
Novels
- The Company: The Story of a Murderer (20002000 in literatureThe year 2000 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 13 - Final original Peanuts comic strip is published...
) - The God of Spring (20052005 in literatureThe year 2005 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February 25 - Canada Reads selects Rockbound by Frank Parker Day as the novel to be read across the nation....
) aka The Raft