Finish the Title: Aussie Novels Quiz

Answer: Thief

The main character of this novel is Liesel Meminger, who finds a book in a graveyard following her brother's burial, beginning a life-long love of books, which she has a habit of stealing. This novel has a memorable narrator: death.

Answer: South

First published in 1948, "The Harp in the South" follows the life of the Darcys, an Irish-Australian family living in tough conditions in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills. Ruth Park was originally from New Zealand, but came to Australia in 1948 as a journalist prior to commencing her prolific career as an author.

Answer: Seven

Turner's "Seven Little Australians" is considered a classic, having been reprinted over 50 times since its original release in 1894. It tells the story of widower Captain Allcott, father of seven children, and the various challenges he faces living in Sydney with his new young wife.

Answer: No

The novel was named "The Slap". It centres around an event at a family barbecue where an adult slaps a misbehaving three year old on the face after his parents fail to intervene. The various characters in the novel have a range of reactions to the slap, reflecting the difficult and often controversial nature of the topic.

Answer: Pudding

"The Magic Pudding", first published in 1918, mixes amusing characters with a range of storytelling techniques. The titular subject is a pudding that never runs out, no matter how much is eaten.

Answer: Blacksmith

Kenneally's 1972 novel was a fictionalised account of events in the life of bushranger Jimmie Governor. Set in 1900, it tells the story from the perspective of the main character, who is of mixed race and endures a wide range of misfortune, much due to racism, before embarking on a famous killing spree.

Answer: One

First published in 1989, "The Power of One" is told through the eyes of an English boy, living in South Africa in the 1930s and 40s. It was adapted into a film in 1992.

Answer: Birds

"The Thorn Birds" is known as one of Australia's epic novels, following the lives of three generations of the Cleary family. The title refers to a bird that impales itself and sings its most beautiful song in its last moments before death. This is an invention of the author, as no such bird behaviour is known to exist.

Answer: True

Lindsay's novel became famous for two major reasons. Firstly, it is written in a style that made some readers believe it to be based on fact, and the author herself often hinted that it may contain some truth. Secondly, the uncertain ending left readers wondering what happened to the girls as it is never revealed in the original 1967 novel, nor in the 1975 film adaptation. An additional chapter explaining the mystery, reportedly part of the original story but removed prior to publication, was released in 1987, following Lindsay's death.

Answer: Career

The central character of this 1901 novel is Sybylla Melvyn, a girl growing up during the 1890s in a poor farming family. She never establishes any sort of career despite her ambitions. A lesser-known sequel to the novel, "My Brilliant Career Goes Bung", was published some 45 years later despite Franklin writing it almost immediately after the original.