Review of Elizabeth Harrower: Critical Essays, edited by Elizabeth McMahon and Brigitta Olubas

‘Rediscovery’ is an action that has been evoked many times lately to describe the renewed interest of literary scholars and publishers in Elizabeth Harrower’s work. A 2014 article in The Guardian newspaper, which told of the ‘revival’ of Harrower’s work by Text Publishing commenced with the headline, ‘Elizabeth Harrower: Australia’s Buried Literary Treasure is Unearthed’, conjuring images of the author gilded with gold leaf, patiently awaiting discovery beneath the detritus of literary history. James Wood’s wide-reaching article on Harrower’s oeuvre in The New Yorker (which would have made a handsome inclusion in the volume presently reviewed, copyright permitting) was announced by a quote from Harrower’s novel, In Certain Circles, and a subheading that drew readers directly into this plot of detection – ‘Rediscovering Elizabeth Harrower’. And the title of the introductory chapter to this new, valuable volume of essays edited by Elizabeth McMahon and Brigitta Olubas – ‘Rediscovering Again:…