The Dyehouse
 | |
| Author | Mena Calthorpe |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Ure Smith, Sydney |
Publication date | 1961 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 218 pp |
| ISBN | 0868060259 |
| Preceded by | – |
| Followed by | The Defectors |
The Dyehouse (1961) is the debut novel by Australian writer Mena Calthorpe.[1]
Story outline
[edit]The novel is set in a textile dye factory in a drab Sydney industrial suburb. It follows the interacting stories of the men and women who work at the Southern Textiles Dye Work in the mid-1950s.
Critical reception
[edit]Joyce Halstead in The Australian Women's Weekly noted some shortcomings but found: "Though there is a groping for the subtleties which would make the characters more convincing, the style is simple and precise and the backgrounds are handled with freshness and skill."[2]
In The Canberra Times, the reviewer also found first novel problems but saw the worth in the end product: "She has considerable skill as a writer, her great strength appears to be story construction. When she stops fascinating herself with her own clever prose, throws away her thesaurus, and gets down to telling a story simply, economically, and honestly she may well be a force to be reckoned with on the Australian literary scene."[3]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]Text Publishing re-issued the novel in 2016 as a part of their Text Classics series.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Dyehouse | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ ""Your Bookshelf" by Joyce Halstead, The Australian Women's Weekly, 4 October 1961, p51". Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ^ ""Formula Story Set In Factory Scene", The Canberra Times, 16 September 1961, p15". Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ^ "The Dyehouse: Text Classics, book by Mena Calthorpe". 29 August 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016 – via www.textpublishing.com.au.