What memories do you hold of your hometown, of the city you live in, lock-down in – or get locked out of? How has your city changed over the last ten years?
Eight cherished Australian writers explore these ideas and more in NewSouth’s iconic City Series, republished this month in striking paperback editions. Each writer has added a poignant new chapter reflecting on the changing idiosyncrasies of our capital cities ten years since they were first published – from morphing skylines and cut-down neighbourhood trees, to rising temperatures and burgeoning arts scenes.
In a new epilogue, Condon returns to the house he grew up in; standing and looking out from the veranda, the past collides with the present, but the view is as he remembers it.
‘Dismayed, enmeshed and enchanted by Brisbane, he has added himself to the long line of its eccentric rhapsodists.’ — Peter Pierce, The Canberra Times
Melbourne by Sophie Cunningham
Cunningham returns to Melbourne after a period away and reflects on how much her city has changed since Melbourne was first published in 2011: it is hotter, greener and has endured the rollercoaster ride – from boom times to economic depression – that defined 2020.
‘This beautiful book provokes nostalgia and deeper thinking about the events, places and people who have defined Melbourne.’ — Herald Sun
As fate would have it, after Canberra was first published to great acclaim in 2012 Daley moved to Sydney, a change he found wrenching. In a new afterword, he reflects on how much he misses Canberra as it transforms into a thriving city.
‘Daley’s narration is done with flair and aplomb, making Canberra the best Canberra history yet.’ — Ian Warden, The Canberra Times
In this new edition, Falconer conjures up Sydney’s sandstone, humidity and jacarandas, its fireworks, glitz and magic. But she discards lazy stereotypes to reveal a complex city: beautiful, violent, half-wild, and at times deeply spiritual.
'Delia Falconer's Sydney ... is like its harbour, brimful with tones, vivid with contemplation.' — Australian Book Review
Adelaide by Kerryn Goldsworthy
In a new afterword, Goldsworthy ponders changes and revelations since Adelaide was first published in 2011 including, inevitably, the record-breaking heat of a 46.6-degree day. ‘Goldsworthy’s prose is rich and effortless, suffused with memories of her own childhood and youth.’ – JM Coetzee
A new afterword suggests how Darwin might deliver lessons for living under the climatically assaulting and culturally uncomfortable times of the Anthropocene.
‘... delves into the fabric, colours, history, geography and lifestyles of this “frontier” town with great insight and vivid descriptions.’ — Margaret Smith, The Sydney Morning Herald
In a new introduction, Timms reflects on what has been nothing short of a tourism-driven revolution since Hobart was first published in 2009.
‘… sometimes it takes an outsider to skewer a city more accurately than someone with a lifetime of familiarity with it. I simply couldn't put it down.’ — Leo Schofield
Carefully researched, full of personal reminiscences and eye-opening facts, this updated edition of Perth has a remarkable new postscript. Here Whish-Wilson returns to the city’s ghosts, and reflects on the place his children will inherit.
‘ … what recommends Perth above all is the great generosity, inclusiveness and idiosyncrasy of its vision.’ — The Age
