ABSTRACT
PALMER was one of the first to recognize the work of an Australian-born writer who had spent all of her adult life in Europe, and the first critic to treat in a book-length study what she considered a significant achievement in Australian literature. Based on interviews with Richardson in England, Palmer constructs a lively personal account of the reclusive author, then analyzes each of the novels in subsequent chapters. The close readings develop the idea that Richardson relied on the “general method of holding to literal facts”, a process Palmer explains fully in the chapter titled “Methods of Work”. The autobiographical approach that this book takes continues to influence Richardson criticism.
