Upright
dir. Matthew Saville (Sky Atlantic, 2019)
A perfect series to represent Australia. Stunning outback cinematography. Bravura performances by Tim Minchin and Milly Alcock. Beyond the entwined character studies, the scripting and delivery ensure a cavalcade of laugh-out-loud moments that keeps on rolling even when the going gets serious.
Death at Victoria Dock
by Kerry Greenwood (Poisoned Pen Press, 1992)
audiobook read by Stephanie Daniel (ABC, 2011)
Stephanie Daniel’s audiobook reading lends vivid personality to all the characters; Greenwood’s depiction of interbellum Melbourne society suggests considerable research; yet Phryne herself has become more goddess than investigator. She is adored and feared to the extent of encountering too little resistance.
Return of the Nimbin
by Jenny Wagner (Penguin, 1992)
Wagner plots an unusual path to conflict, channelling the heat of the Australian summer into a sweltering ennui that saps her protagonist of good decision-making. A sweet, sad story where affection is tempered by lethargy, and doing nothing—badly—has disastrous consequences.
Murder on the Ballarat Train
by Kerry Greenwood (Penguin, 1991); audiobook read by Stephanie Daniel (Bolinda, 2009)
As with ‘Flying Too High’, the mystery is not so much solved as forced to recognise the unstoppable poise and authority of Miss Phryne Fisher. An easy read of historical interest and with characters made even more memorable by the TV series.
Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, Series 2
(Acorn, 2021)
The episodes have doubled in number since the first series but halved in length, resulting in slighter mysteries and a more light-hearted approach (litmus test: Chief Inspector Sparrow). Celebrates the 1960s but calls out Australian society for its dismissive attitude towards women.
Painting in the Shadows
by Katherine Kovacic (Echo, 2019); audiobook read by Casey Withoos (W.F. Howes, 2020)
Though the mystery and its investigation are quite slight, Kovacic concocts a cosy and somewhat fraught intrigue throughout. The text shines with passion for art, while Alex and John’s female/male friendship shows real Australian personality. Hogarth the Irish Wolfhound remains a delight.
Full Bore
by William McInnes (Hachette, 2016); audiobook read by William McInnes (W F Howes, 2017)
A gentle, rather wistful gathering together of memories and musings. McInnes presents recollections within recollections, the weave of his stories constituting less a riotous series of anecdotes and more an appreciation of life as a mosaic of shared happiness and small moments.
The Land Before Avocado: Journeys in a Lost Australia
by Richard Glover (ABC Books, 2018); audiobook read by the author (Bolinda, 2018)
Part personal recollection, part assiduous research, Glover delivers a time capsule of Australian social history for the years 1975-1985. Though the material itself is fascinating, and tragicomic in a ‘truth as satire’ way, the delivery suffers whenever Glover tries to be funny.
The Making of Modern Australia
by William McInnes (Hachette, 2010); audiobook read by John Burnley (QNS Audio, 2013)
A thoughtful social history of Australia post Second World War, structured around McInnes’s own reminiscences plus interviews with Australians from a wide variety of backgrounds. Without shying away from our well-documented national failings, McInnes makes a case for embracing a common heritage.
Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries
(Seven Network, 2019)
Ms Fisher dances smoothly forward in time to 1960s Melbourne, reworking several aspects of the earlier Miss Fisher series and proving a worthy successor. Geraldine Hakewill (Peregrine Fisher) is mod-culture personified and every bit Essie Davis’s (Phryne’s) equal across four feature-length episodes.