The Modern Novel

Biography

Gerald Murnane was born in Coburg, Melbourne in 1939. His father was a prison warder but was also a reckless gambler, which meant that the family had to frequently move. After school, he trained for the priesthood but soon gave that up to train as a teacher. He worked as a teacher and then, later on, studying in his spare time, took a B.A. from the University of Melbourne. He started writing poetry but soon switched to prose fiction. His first two novels were semi-autobiographical but, starting with The Plains, his novels have been described as somewhere between conventional fiction and philosophical writing. He has never had much critical success though, more recently, he has started to get a reputation outside Australia and is considered by some to be one of the finest Australian writer.

Other links

Gerald Murnane
A detrimental education (article by Murnane)
When The Mice Failed To Arrive (article by Murnane)
he Reclusive Giant of Australian Fiction
Interview
Interview