Nancy Phelan
Encyclopedia
Nancy Phelan was an Australia
n writer who published over 25 books, including novels, biographies, memoirs, travel books and a cookbook. She travelled widely through Europe, the Pacific, Asia and the Middle east.
. However, as a teenager she saw the limitations of her suburban life and was keen to travel, so in 1938 she bought a one-way ticket to England. She met her husband, Raymond "Pete" Phelan, in London near the beginning of the war, and had her daughter, Vanessa, there. She and her daughter were evacuated to Devon
where she spent her war years while her husband was in the Navy.
She returned to Australia with her family in 1945 and quickly joined the thriving arts scene of Potts Point, Kings Cross and Elizabeth Bay. In 1946 she obtained work as a visual aids officer with the South Pacific Commission, and travelled frequently to the South Pacific islands. In 1951, she became assistant organiser for Island literature in the Commission's Social Development Section, but she resigned in 1956 to write full-time. Her first book, Atoll Holiday, published in 1958, was inspired by her three months in Gilbert Islands
. Her writings of her travelling alone in places such as Turkey and post-war Japan "shocked her readership".
In addition to writing books, she also wrote short stories and articles, and was a reviewer for The Sydney Morning Herald from 1970 and the Melbourne Age
from 1972.
Phelan was the niece of Amy (1876—1939) and Louise Mack
(1870—1935), a Hobart
-born writer who became the first female war correspondent during World War I
, and the cousin of Australian conductor, Charles Mackerras
. She wrote biographies of both. Her friends included writers Patrick White
, Kylie Tennant
, Dorothy Hewett
, Jessica Anderson
, Nancy Keesing
, Elizabeth Harrower
and Peter Porter
, and the artist Jeffrey Smart
.
The Patrick White Award judges said that she wrote with "delicious verve and humour" and that her "passion for life has led her to explore other cultures and to write memorably about them whether in fiction or non-fiction".
Towards the end of her life, Phelan said that she wanted to push her prose towards poetry: "Poetry gets to the crux of things in a beautiful and arresting way ... That's the sort of writing I would like to be able to do. I don't know that I will ever get there. It's a very difficult job, writing, isn't it?"
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n writer who published over 25 books, including novels, biographies, memoirs, travel books and a cookbook. She travelled widely through Europe, the Pacific, Asia and the Middle east.
Life and career
Nancy Eleanor Creagh was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and had "a magical childhood, spent wandering the shores of Sydney Harbour near Chinamans Beach and The Spit on Middle Harbour with her friends and extended family". She studied at the Conservatorium of Music and the University of SydneyUniversity of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. However, as a teenager she saw the limitations of her suburban life and was keen to travel, so in 1938 she bought a one-way ticket to England. She met her husband, Raymond "Pete" Phelan, in London near the beginning of the war, and had her daughter, Vanessa, there. She and her daughter were evacuated to Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
where she spent her war years while her husband was in the Navy.
She returned to Australia with her family in 1945 and quickly joined the thriving arts scene of Potts Point, Kings Cross and Elizabeth Bay. In 1946 she obtained work as a visual aids officer with the South Pacific Commission, and travelled frequently to the South Pacific islands. In 1951, she became assistant organiser for Island literature in the Commission's Social Development Section, but she resigned in 1956 to write full-time. Her first book, Atoll Holiday, published in 1958, was inspired by her three months in Gilbert Islands
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
. Her writings of her travelling alone in places such as Turkey and post-war Japan "shocked her readership".
In addition to writing books, she also wrote short stories and articles, and was a reviewer for The Sydney Morning Herald from 1970 and the Melbourne Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
from 1972.
Phelan was the niece of Amy (1876—1939) and Louise Mack
Louise Mack
Marie Louise Hamilton Mack was an Australian poet, journalist and novelist.-Biography:Mack was born in Hobart, Tasmania. Her father, Hans Hamilton Mack, was a Wesleyan minister who moved the family from state to state on account of his work. By the time she was ready for secondary school, the...
(1870—1935), a Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
-born writer who became the first female war correspondent during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and the cousin of Australian conductor, Charles Mackerras
Charles Mackerras
Sir Alan Charles Maclaurin Mackerras, AC, CH, CBE was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan...
. She wrote biographies of both. Her friends included writers Patrick White
Patrick White
Patrick Victor Martindale White , an Australian author, is widely regarded as an important English-language novelist of the 20th century. From 1935 until his death, he published 12 novels, two short-story collections and eight plays.White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, shifting narrative...
, Kylie Tennant
Kylie Tennant
Kathleen Kylie Tennant AO was an Australian novelist, playwright, short-story writer, critic, biographer and historian.-Life and career:Tennant was born in Manly, New South Wales; she was educated at Brighton College in Manly and Sydney University, though she left without graduating...
, Dorothy Hewett
Dorothy Hewett
Dorothy Coade Hewett was an Australian feminist poet, novelist, librettist and playwright. She was also a member of the Communist Party of Australia, though she clashed on many occasions with the party's leadership.-Early life:Hewett was born in Perth and was brought up on a sheep and wheat farm...
, Jessica Anderson
Jessica Anderson
Jessica Margaret Queale Anderson was an Australian novelist and short story writer. She won several awards and has been published in Britain and the United States.-Life:...
, Nancy Keesing
Nancy Keesing
Nancy Keesing was a Jewish Australian writer and editor.Nancy Keesing was born in Sydney, Australia and attended school at Sydney Girls' Grammar School, the Frensham School and then went on to the University of Sydney...
, Elizabeth Harrower
Elizabeth Harrower (writer)
Elizabeth Harrower is an Australian novelist and short story writer.She was born in Sydney but spent her childhood in industrial Newcastle, New South Wales. She lived in London from 1951 to 1959...
and Peter Porter
Peter Porter
Peter Porter is the name of:* Peter Buell Porter , U.S. political figure and soldier* Peter A. Porter , U.S. political figure and grandson of Peter Buell Porter* Peter Porter , Australian-born British poet...
, and the artist Jeffrey Smart
Jeffrey Smart
Jeffrey Smart , is an expatriate Australian painter, who is known for his modernist depictions of urban landscapes.His first goal was to become an architect; however, he went on to become an art teacher after studying at Adelaide Teacher's College and the South Australian School of Art and Crafts...
.
The Patrick White Award judges said that she wrote with "delicious verve and humour" and that her "passion for life has led her to explore other cultures and to write memorably about them whether in fiction or non-fiction".
Towards the end of her life, Phelan said that she wanted to push her prose towards poetry: "Poetry gets to the crux of things in a beautiful and arresting way ... That's the sort of writing I would like to be able to do. I don't know that I will ever get there. It's a very difficult job, writing, isn't it?"
Awards and nominations
- 1950: The Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
novel competition. Third prize for The Voice Beyond the Tree - 1984: Braille Book of the Year Award for The Swift Foot of Time
- 1987: Miles Franklin AwardMiles Franklin AwardThe 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 ...
. Nominated for Home is the Sailor - 1988: Foundation of Australian Literary Studies award for Home is the Sailor, and The Best of Intentions
- 2004: Patrick White AwardPatrick White AwardThe Patrick White Award is an annual literary prize established by Patrick White. White used his 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature award to establish a trust for this prize....
Novels
- Home is the Sailor; and The Best of Intentions (1987) (ISBN 0-947062-15-7)
- The River and the Brook (1962)
- Serpents in Paradise (1967)
- The Voice Beyond the Trees (1985) (ISBN 0-908090-83-8)
Autobiographies and memoirs
- A Kingdom by the Sea (1969)
- Setting Out on the Voyage: The World of an Incorrigible Adventurer (contains A Kingdom by the Sea and Hearts of Oak) (1998) (ISBN 0-702-22996-2)
- The Swift Foot of Time: An Australian in England (1983) (ISBN 0-908128-21-5)
- Writing Round The Edges: A Selective Memoir (2003) (ISBN 0-702233-74-9)
Biographies
- Charles Mackerras: A Musicians' Musician (1987) (ISBN 0-575-036-20-6)
- The Romantic Lives of Louise Mack (1991) (ISBN 0-702-22361-1)
Travel
- Atoll Holiday (1958)
- The Chilean Way: Travels in Chile (1973) (ISBN 0-333-14392-2)
- Morocco is a Lion (1982) (ISBN 0-908-12818-5)
- Pillow of Grass (1969) (ISBN 0-333-10034-4)
- Welcome the Wayfarer: A Traveller in Modern Turkey (1965)
Other non-fiction
- Beginner's Guide to Yoga (1973) (ISBN 0-720-70671-8)
- How to Make Your Own Filmstrips (1954)
- Mosman Impressions (1993) (ISBN 0-646-12976-7)
- Pieces of Heaven in the South Seas (1996) (ISBN 0-702-22756-0)
- Sex and Yoga (with Michael Volin) (1967)
- Some Came Early, Some Came Late (1970) (ISBN 0-333-11896-0)
- Yoga Breathing (with Michael Volin) (1966) (ISBN 0-720-70116-3)
- Yoga For Women (with Michael Volin) (1963)
- Yoga Over Forty (with Michael Volin) (1965)