The Ivory Swing

Overview

Juliet yearns for the 'ebb and flow of life lived avidly', for the pace and challenge of city living. The conflict between her love of husband and children and her own passionate need for expression is intensified by her move from small town Canada to Southern India. The stifling restrictions on Juliet's freedom are magnified by the plight of her young widowed neighbour. The beautiful Yashoda longs to embrace the Western values that would release her from the strictures of Indian tradition. But the ancient mores are powerful and enduring, and challenging them inevitably leads to tragedy.The Ivory Swing won Canada's prestigious $50,000 Seal Award for Best First Novel, as well as great critical acclaim.

Author Biography

Janette Turner Hospital grew up in Brisbane and was educated at Wilston State School, Mitchelton High, the University of Queensland and Kelvin Grove Teachers' College. She taught high school north of Cairns, but since her post-graduate degrees in Canada, she has taught in universities in Canada, Australia, England, France and the United States. She has won a number of prizes for her eight novels and four short-story collections, which have been published in numerous languages. In 2003, she won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award and the Patrick White Award, and received a Doctor of Letters honoris causa from the University of Queensland. She is Carolina Distinguished Professor Emerita at the University of South Carolina, where she taught for twelve years. In 2010, she was a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland.