VPLA 2024
Edenglassie

Title: Edenglassie

Author: Melissa Lucashenko

Publisher: University of Queensland Press

When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Edenglassie, their saltwater people still outnumber the British. As colonial unrest peaks, Mulanyin dreams of taking his bride home to Yugambeh Country, but his plans for independence collide with white justice.

Two centuries later, fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny. Together they care for obstinate centenarian Granny Eddie, and sparks fly, but not always in the right direction. What nobody knows is how far the legacies of the past will reach into their modern lives.

In this brilliant epic, Melissa Lucashenko torches Queensland’s colonial myths, while reimagining an Australian future.

Photography by Sarah Walker

Judges’ report

Melissa Lucashenko’s Edenglassie is an outstanding epic spanning five generations and two centuries. While interwoven narratives speak to the cyclical nature of time, the stories are deeply rooted in place and what lies buried in the ‘good Yagara dirt of the Ancestors’. This is storytelling that refuses to endure the ongoing silences and secrecies perpetuating racism and ignorance in this country. The novel dances between brilliant humour, wit and fury. With an array of beautifully drawn characters, the lovable Granny Eddie and heroic granddaughter Winona in 2024, and the warrior Mulanyin and his beloved, Nita, in the past, the narrative threads together multiple perspectives – from contemporary activism, debates around identities, appropriation, tokenism and statues, to a tale of two lovers fighting to be together amidst violent massacres and poisoning in colonial Queensland. An immersive story with incredible heart and vision, this is luminescent truth telling –  devastating, hysterically funny, and unforgettable.

Extract

About the author

Photo by Glenn Hunt

Melissa Lucashenko is a Goorie (Aboriginal) author of Bundjalung and European heritage. Her first novel was published in 1997 and since then her work has received acclaim in many literary awards. Killing Darcy won the Royal Blind Society Award and was shortlisted for an Aurealis award. Her sixth novel, Too Much Lip, won the 2019 Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Queensland Premier’s Award for a work of State Significance. It was also shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Fiction, the Stella Prize, two Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, two Queensland Literary Awards and two NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Melissa is a Walkley Award winner for her non-fiction, and a founding member of human rights organisation Sisters Inside. She writes about ordinary Australians and the extraordinary lives they lead. Her latest book is Edenglassie.