The Long Prospect: Text Classics, book by Elizabeth Harrower

Introduction by Fiona McGregor

Sharply observed, bitter and humorous, The Long Prospect is a story of life in an Australian industrial town.

Growing up neglected in a seedy boarding house, twelve-year-old Emily Lawrence befriends Max, a middle-aged scientist who encourages her to pursue her intellectual interests. Innocent Emily will face scandal, suburban snobbery and psychological torment.

Originally published in 1958, The Long Prospect was described as second only to Patrick White’s Voss in postwar Australian literature.

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Elizabeth Harrower was born in Sydney in 1928 and moved to London in 1951. She travelled extensively and began to write fiction. Her first novel Down in the City was published in 1957, and was followed by The Long Prospect a year later. In 1959 she returned to Sydney where she began working for the ABC and as a book reviewer for the Sydney...