Tara Calaby


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Tara Calaby

Goodreads Author


Born
in Melbourne, Australia
Website

Twitter

Genre

Influences

Member Since
April 2008

URL


Tara Calaby is an English-Australian writer and editor, living in Gippsland, Australia with their incredible wife and far too many books and DVDs. Calaby's doctoral research focused on the social worlds of women in Victorian lunatic asylums, which was the inspiration for their debut novel, House of Longing (Text, 2023). This was followed by The Spirit Circle (Text, 2025). Calaby's speculative and historical short stories have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies.

NB: I use Goodreads as a reader, not an author, and have a policy of not engaging with reviews of my work. Chat to me on socials instead! Many of the books listed here were read for research purposes and the views expressed within them do not necessarily reflect my own.
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Tara Calaby Perhaps not a mystery so much as a tragedy, but I recently learned that a direct ancestor murdered his granddaughter after spending time in Bethlem, m…morePerhaps not a mystery so much as a tragedy, but I recently learned that a direct ancestor murdered his granddaughter after spending time in Bethlem, more commonly known as Bedlam. It would be a draining book to write, so I don't think I'd want to be the one to do it—although I might manage an essay or short creative non-fiction piece in the future. (less)
Tara Calaby Alas, no :( But I've had Butler on my Need To Try list for some time now. I'll get around to it eventually! (So many books. So little time.)…moreAlas, no :( But I've had Butler on my Need To Try list for some time now. I'll get around to it eventually! (So many books. So little time.)(less)
Average rating: 3.91 · 447 ratings · 105 reviews · 29 distinct worksSimilar authors
House of Longing

3.82 avg rating — 126 ratings — published 2023 — 2 editions
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Knee-Deep in Grit: Two Bloo...

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3.97 avg rating — 104 ratings — published 2018 — 4 editions
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Aurealis #68

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3.58 avg rating — 95 ratings — published 1990 — 53 editions
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The Spirit Circle

3.48 avg rating — 73 ratings3 editions
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Grimdark Magazine, Issue 4,...

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3.93 avg rating — 59 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions
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Mosaics 2: A Collection of ...

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4.76 avg rating — 17 ratings2 editions
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Quickfic Anthology 2

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4.53 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions
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Idol Meanderings (The Real ...

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3.87 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions
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Marked by Scorn: An Antholo...

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3.87 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions
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Ashes

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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The End and Everything Before It by Finegan Kruckemeyer
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Beyond Bad by Sandra   Lee
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Good-Bye, Mrs. Otis by Francine Pascal
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Mrs Otis is retiring, so her class decide to throw her a goodbye party & make her a present.

A real ensemble instalment in the series, with all of the kids chipping in... although that means that most of them blur together. The focus on the chick hatc
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The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
The Honeys
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Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
Ghost Wall
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Murder spree by Damon and Rowan Wilson
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Germinal by Émile Zola
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Till Death Us Do Part by Paul B. Kidd
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Class Picture Day! by Francine Pascal
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This is a very low-key storyline after all the hijinks of the last couple of books. It's class photo day and the kids in second grade have to somehow stay neat and clean until it's their turn to have their picture taken. That's not at all easy when y ...more
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Aussie Readers: This topic has been closed to new comments. Share Your Reviews (and Thoughts) Here - 2023 3626 266 Dec 31, 2023 02:37PM  
The Lost Challenges: 2024 A-Z Friends Challenge 48 41 Dec 28, 2024 01:11PM  
The Lost Challenges: 2024 A-Z Covers Challenge 68 60 Jan 05, 2025 12:53PM  
The Lost Challenges: 2024 A-Z Titles Challenge 92 85 Jan 05, 2025 12:55PM  
Aussie Readers: Annual Challenge 2025 - A-Z Titles 261 166 Dec 30, 2025 04:24PM  
Aussie Readers: This topic has been closed to new comments. Share Your Reviews (and Thoughts) Here - 2025 2980 273 Dec 31, 2025 07:56PM  
Donna Tartt
“Does such a thing as 'the fatal flaw,' that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn't. Now I think it does. And I think that mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.”
Donna Tartt, The Secret History

Daphne du Maurier
“Little notes, scrawled on half-sheets of paper, and letters, when he was away, page after page, intimate, their news. Her voice, echoing through the house, and down the garden, careless and familiar like the writing in the book.
And I had to call him Maxim.”
Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

Ernest Hemingway
“But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

Napoléon Bonaparte
“Courage isn't having the strength to go on - it is going on when you don't have strength.”
Napoleon Bonaparte

Julian Barnes
“He died little more than a hundred years ago, and all that remains of him is paper. Paper, ideas, phrases, metaphors, structured prose which turns into sound.”
Julian Barnes, Flaubert's Parrot

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Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
201486 Retro Reads Young Adult — 134 members — last activity Apr 27, 2022 10:14AM
A place where lovers of 70s, 80s & 90s YA adult fiction can chat and discuss! Find us on Facebook and Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bsc ...more
Comments (showing 1-3)    post a comment »
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Nandakishore Mridula Thanks for accepting my friend request. We have a lot of books in common across the genres.


Robert Thanks for accepting my friend request, Tara.


Wendy Darling Thanks so much for the friendvite and the lovely note, Tara. I really appreciate your taking the time to write something about what happened, as it's been a bit of a zoo here lately. Aside from all that, I look forward to chatting books with you, too! :)


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