Gabrielle Lord
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gabrielle Lord | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 26 February 1946 Sydney |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Genres | Psychological thrillers |
Gabrielle Craig Lord (born 26 February 1946) is an Australian writer who has been described as Australia's first lady of crime.[1] She has published a wide range of writing including reviews, articles, short stories and non-fiction, but she is best known for her psychological thrillers.
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[edit] Life
Lord was born in Sydney. She went to school at the Sacre Coeur Convent at Rose Bay, and university at the University of New England in Armidale where she did her Honours degree in Victorian Literature. She worked as a teacher, and as a public servant with the Commonwealth Employment Service.
In 1978, with the support of a New Writer's Fellowship, she took a year off work to write full-time. The novel she wrote during the majority of that time, A Death in the Family received a bad reader's report so Lord put it aside and in the remaining three weeks of her year off wrote Fortress.[1] It was an instant success and, with the money from the film rights, she was able to leave paid employment in 1983 and return to full-time writing.[2]
Lord's other interests include animal welfare, and a type of spirituality that is manifested in appreciation of the music of the Taizé Community, a spiritual community in France.
She lives in a Sydney beach-side suburb, and has two granddaughters.
[edit] Career
Lord's first published novel was Fortress, a thriller about the kidnapping of a country school teacher and her students. It was inspired by the Faraday School kidnapping, but takes dramatic licence with the actual events. It was an instant success, was translated into six languages, and was made into a film. Since then she has written many thrillers, including two series: the Gemma Lincoln series about an ex-cop PI, and the Jack McCain series about a forensic scientist.
She believes strongly in research, saying it is "necessary for today's savvy readers"[3] and to this end had, over the years, spent time with scientists, detectives, and forensic anthropologists; studied some Anatomy at the University of Sydney; and done work experience with a private security business.
Two of her novels have been filmed: Fortress (1986), a feature film adapted by scriptwriter Everett De Roche and directed by Arch Nicholson; and Whipping Boy (1996), a telemovie adapted by scriptwriter Peter Yeldham and directed by Di Drew.
[edit] Awards
- 2002 Ned Kelly Awards for Best Crime Novel for Death delights[4]
- 2003 Davitt Award (Joint winner) for best crime novel by an Australian woman for Baby did a bad bad thing
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Fiction
- Fortress (1980) ISBN 0 7336 1024 2
- Tooth and claw (1983)
- Jumbo (1986) ISBN 0 7336 1092 7
- Salt (1990) ISBN 0733610366
- Whipping Boy (1992) ISBN 0 7336 1023 4, referenced in List of books portraying paedophilia or sexual abuse of minors and in List of films portraying paedophilia or sexual abuse of minors
- Bones (1995)
- The sharp end (1998)
Gemma Lincoln series
- Feeding the demons (1999) ISBN 0 7336 1240 7
- Baby did a bad bad thing (2002) ISBN 0 7336 1592 9
- Spiking the girl (2004) ISBN 0 7336 1622 4
- Shattered (2007) ISBN 978 0 7336 1958 8
Jack McCain series
- Death delights (2001) ISBN 0 7336 1508 2
- Lethal factor (2003)
- Dirty weekend (2005) ISBN 0 7336 1852 9
[edit] Young adult fiction
- Monkey undercover (2006)
- Conspiracy 365 (2007-, series of 12 novels)
[edit] Non-fiction
- Growing up Catholic (with others) (1986)
- Grace of angels (1996)
- Sanctuary (2005, co-written and with an accompanying CD by Trisha Watts)
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Adelaide, Debra (1988) Australian women writers: a bibliographic guide, London, Pandora
- Ellison, Jennifer (1986) Rooms of their own, Ringwood, Penguin
- Pressley, Alison (2007) "Lord and lady" in Good Reading Magazine, April 2007, pp. 22-23
