Courtesy Fremantle Press

A Note on Other Resources

In these ways the Bibliography complements two other critical resources related to Jolley and her work: the Australian Literature Gateway (AusLit) data base (see http://www.austlit.edu.au/); and the manuscripts held in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales (see the Guide to the Papers of Elizabeth Jolley, arranged and described by James Andrighetti, at http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/). The AusLit data base provides an extensive listing of works by and about Elizabeth Jolley, but is differently navigable and without the full-text attachments for many of the non-book-length entries available here.

The 67 boxes of papers held in the Mitchell Library include manuscripts and correspondence related to the published works listed in this Bibliography, as well as Jolley's personal papers, letters and diaries. The Elizabeth Jolley Research Collection complements the Mitchell archive by holding foreign language translations of her novels, copies of audiobook adaptations of her work, and artwork and memorabilia related to it (a quilt made in her honour, a ceramic plate decorated by Jolley for charity, videos related to her schooling, nursing and early years in Australia, and the like).

A Note on the Scope of the Bibliography

Elizabeth Jolley: A Bibliography--1965-2007 is framed by the events of her first short-story publication in Australia and her death. In compiling it we have made continual decisions as to what to include and what to exclude—an ongoing process made more complex by the advent of the internet as a viable research tool. There are several kinds of materials that the Bibliography excludes. The most significant of these is the exclusion of foreign-language critical articles, news articles and reviews from Part 4. As the list of translations of the novels and short stories indicates, Jolley enjoyed a considerable international appreciation, and ideally a “complete” bibliography of her work would include such materials.

In regard to other kinds of exclusions, generally we have omitted items where Jolley and/or her work are only briefly mentioned: in news articles; in a critical essay on topics such as Australian novelists or women writers; in Australian and international literature surveys; and the like. Similarly, mostly we have omitted notices of Jolley's work that occur in such places as New York Times Book Review articles listing “best sellers,” recalling books reviewed during the year, or recommending books for Christmas-time reading. Similarly, we have excluded items like travel books such as print and online Lonely Planet guides, annual bibliographies like the Journal of Commonwealth Literature's “Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature,” and so on.

Comparably, for the most part we have excluded numerous web references, such as: generalised entries on Jolley in online encyclopaedias like Britannica or Wikepedia; mention of her in online newsletters of professional and governmental agencies; reference to her/her work in publishers' online material; remarks about her or the writing in blogs; and the like. We have made a few exceptions in cases where the resource is clearly authored and/or especially significant (for example, some of the blogs following Jolley's death). But for the most part such material has been omitted either because it was summary or not clearly attributed, or because there is no certainty that a website will remain available.

Finally, we have excluded material for which we had an initial reference but could not confirm either by obtaining a hard copy or, in a few instances, by finding a second reliable source. Every effort was made to locate a hard copy of each item included in the Bibliography, both to verify the information and also to provide readers with full-text copies of non-booklength entries online or in hardcopy materials held by the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library as part of the Elizabeth Jolley Research Collection. Even so, even when we had the hardcopy to hand, sometimes we could not locate all the bibliographic information, and in those cases we indicated the lacunae appropriately. So, for example, we indicate the missing page-number information in the following entry:

“The Darker Truths of Love.” Rev. of Milk and Honey. St Louis Post-Dispatch 25 May 1986: n. pag.

Still, there remains tantalising leads to be confirmed—such as the reference to a Russian translation of Another Holiday for Prince…

Thus we have compiled not a complete but an extensively researched bibliography for one of Australia's most important novelists. The Bibliography necessarily is incomplete, not only because of exclusions we have decided on, but also because of the inevitability of mistakes we have made or items we have missed. Though we have had wonderful assistance in compiling the Bibliography, the mistakes are ours, as is the responsibility for missing entries. We welcome any advice from readers about errors or omissions.

Most of all, the Bibliography necessarily is incomplete because of its arbitrary terminus. Elizabeth Jolley is one of Australia's most significant writers, and commentary on her work and life will continue after 2007—we hope this Bibliography will assist such writings.

The Pear Tree Dance Quilt, 1999,
Lesley Fitzpatrick (detail)