The Gorgon Flower
By (Author) John Richards
University of Queensland Press
University of Queensland Press
3rd April 2024
Australia
General
Fiction
Short stories
Paperback
288
Width 153mm, Height 226mm, Spine 24mm
360g
These accomplished, gothic-infused stories impress in terms of their range and unexpected twists - this is an exceptional debut collection that includes the title novella, 'The Gorgon Flower'. A young woman is haunted by the disappearance of her grandmother, a brilliant mathematician whose research uncovered the basis for parallel universes. A botanist travels across the seas in search of an elusive, deadly flower that was also his late father's obsession. A talented painter produces his best work - unsettling masterpieces with strange, fantastical elements - years after he was last seen in person. In this gothic-inspired collection of stories, John Richards pushes the limits of what short fiction can be. With settings that range from rural France to medieval Italy and nineteenth-century Borneo, The Gorgon Flower is an impressively crafted, engrossing debut by a bold new writer.
John Richards was educated in the UK and lived in London and Singapore before settling in Brisbane. He was shortlisted for the Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Award in 2021 and the Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer in August 2022. The Gorgon Flower is his first published work of fiction.