Vale Elizabeth Jolley

I was really sad to hear about Elizabeth Jolley's passing. She has always been one of my writing heroes, especially because, like me, she didn't begin writing until her late 30s.

As a writer, Elizabeth Jolley had the most wicked humour. You'd read a sentence or paragraph of perfectly reasonable looking words and realised she'd strung them together in wild, memorable ways.

Like the true lady she was, Jolley's prose was never vulgar but could be hysterically "rude". Her clean, neat writing style, brilliant turn of phrase and vivid imagination have inspired and delighted me (and thousands of others) since I first began reading her work some 20 or so years ago.

The first of her writing I ever read was the short story collection, Five Acre Virgin. The title story, about a woman who uses her wits (and knowledge of planting cycles) to hang onto a piece of land that she'd been forced to sell, had me hooked.

I think I've read all her books (reread some favourites a couple of times) and own most of them. Whenever I go to a writing seminar or class and have to bring along a piece of writing from my favourite writer, I invariably take something from my collection of Elizabeth Jolley's works.

Elizabeth Jolley was one of Australia's greatest writers and her humour, intelligence and creative gifts will live on in her many published works.

Deepest condolences to her family and close friends. I am sure you will miss her.