Brown, Janet M (1998) The writing and research of the novel 'The Shaded Side'. Research Master thesis, Victoria University of Technology.

Abstract

The purpose of this project has been to research and write the novel The Shaded Side and a critical commentary. The novel is based on the fictitious events that take place in an Australian tuberculosis sanatorium in the 1940s. The story locates and reflects the consequences of relationships, experiences, morals and attitudes of this early period against the present day story of an adult adoptee searching for the identity of her birth mother. Research into the history of TB treatment in Australia and into broader representations of illness and disease has been required for the project. General themes include: sanatorium treatment, wartime experiences of women of Footscray, the influences of Catholicism as it was generally practised earlier this century, adoption and the mechanics of searching for one's birth relatives. The critical component consists of two essays. Essay 1 discusses comparative representations of illness and disease and the use of metaphoric language. Essay 2 explores the controversial issue of appropriation of research in realist fiction and the requirement for writers to understand and take responsibility for their choices of representation.

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