Wearing Paper Dresses

by Anne Brinsden

You can talk about living in the Mallee. And you can talk about a Mallee tree. And you can talk about the Mallee itself: a land and a place full of red sand and short stubby trees. Silent skies. The undulating scorch of summer plains. Quiet, on the surface of things.

But Elise wasn't from the Mallee, and she knew nothing of its ways.

Discover the world of a small homestead perched on the sunburnt farmland of northern Victoria. Meet Elise, whose urbane 1950s glamour is rudely transplanted to the pragmatic red soil of the Mallee when her husband returns to work the family farm. But you cannot uproot a plant and expect it to thrive. And so it is with Elise. Her meringues don't impress the shearers, the locals scoff at her Paris fashions, her husband works all day in the back paddock, and the drought kills everything but the geraniums she despises.

As their mother withdraws more and more into herself, her spirited, tearaway daughters, Marjorie and Ruby, wild as weeds, are left to raise themselves as best they can. Until tragedy strikes, and Marjorie flees to the city determined to leave her family behind. And there she stays, leading a very different life, until the boy she loves draws her back to the land she can't forget...

'In the same vein as Rosalie Ham, Brinsden weaves a compelling story of country Australia with all its stigma, controversy and beauty.' Fleur McDonald

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Book Club, Historical, Australia, Audiobook, Literary Fiction

312 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2019

About the author

As far back as Anne can remember she has loved stories. Mostly, she would read them. But if there were no stories to read, she would make up her own. She lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne now with a couple of nice humans, an unbalanced but mostly nice cat and a family of magpies. But she lived all of her childhood in the Mallee in northern Victoria before heading for the city and a career as a teacher. She received the 2017 Albury Write Around the Murray short story competition, judged and presented by Bruce Pascoe; and was highly commended in the 2018 Williamstown Literary Festival short story competition. Wearing Paper Dresses is her first novel. Find out more at: www.annebrinsden.com

Reviews

[Krystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just gonna pat myself on the back for finishing this one because it was a FKN DRAINER.

Please note: I see a lot of merit in this book. I can see people absolutely falling in love with it and raving non-stop. So please consider how different everyone's tastes are while you read the forthcoming rant on how much this book bored me to tears.

So. Here we go.

The blurb: City girl Elise marries country boy Bill and they end up moving back to (The) Mallee to help with Pa on the family farm. Elise struggles in this unfamiliar world and it leads to her neglecting her daughters, Ruby and Marjorie. Then, tragedy. Marjorie runs away, but then 'the boy she loves draws her back to the land she can't forget ...'

Now let me burst your bubble right here and now and let you know that 'tragedy' doesn't strike until bloody 240 pages into this novel, meaning I had to wade through 65% of the book's monotony and repetition before that even happened. NOTHING UPSETS ME MORE THAN WHEN THE BLURB IS ACTUALLY THE ENTIRE STORY OUTLINE. This is not about Marjorie having a rough childhood, then escaping it, then being inexplicably drawn back. This is about crazy old Elise and how her batsh*t insane antics create a problematic childhood for Marjorie and her sister.

Literally over 250 pages of how crazy Elise is, and how Marjorie rebels, and how the fkn Mallee is a thing that is unforgiving and blah, blah, blah. EVERYTHING in this book is humanised and it got real old real fast (See my reading update that includes the quote about the table). These are the judgiest mother fkn objects I've ever encountered in my LIFE. Curtains, doors, stove tops, tables, kettles ... EVERYTHING has a bloody opinion. THANKS BUT NO THANKS. I didn't come here to listen to the opinions of a freaking tea cosy.

Elise is completely off her rocker, and that's the heart of this story. This will be why so many will love it, but also why I found it so frustratingly dull. Because her descent into madness is detailed minutely, and it is so very gradual. This is a really important consideration of mental illness, and how debilitating it can be, and how it can impact the lives of others, which is great and all but I just didn't have time for it. I'm a pretty clever girl, so I don't need the message pounded into me for 250-odd pages. I GET IT. And the writing style, while clever and unique, did absolutely nothing for me, so I found it rubbing me raw where others will likely marvel and appreciate slowly. I AM NOT GOOD AT SLOW.

The character exploration is of course brilliant. The depths this book delves into these lives is thorough and believable and this is a pretty accurate gathering of country bumpkins. Pa is such a stereotype, I LOVE IT. The cursing in this book is so entertaining - everyone familiar with Alf from Home and Away? There's not a single regular swear word in here, but it's a big feature of the story. Let's put it this way: if Elise from this book were to read this review of mine, I'd be in a big bloody pile of steaming cow manure. This is a very real portrayal of people living in a town that has its own mood swings, and of how not fitting in in such a small society can waste away one's spirit. I may have been bored to tears by the way it was told, but it is a pretty brutal, real story.

So here's my summary:
-The writing style did nothing for me but it's clever and unique so likely to please those who enjoy slowly digesting words
-The characters are brilliantly explored, so this is a perfect read for those who would like to experience true blue, fair dinkum Aussie characters in a typical Aussie country town setting
-The story is an important one about the progression of mental illness and how it manifests physically, but is far too long and tedious for those who like a fair pace with their stories
-The blurb is entirely misleading, and will make you believe more will happen in the book than what actually does

Not my cup of coffee in the slightest, but definitely one for lovers of Australian fiction who enjoy the slow appreciation of words and ideas. This book is one that will definitely transport you to The Mallee - I was just keen to get back home.

With thanks to Macmillan for a copy to read and review.

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while) · Rating 4 out of 5]

EXCERPT: Marjorie started to rise, her chair scraping along the lino. 'I suppose I better do the vegies.'

'No,' said Pa. 'There will be no tea here tonight.'

Marjorie stood. The two girls watched their grandfather.

'Your father called on the telephone. The doctor said your mother has to go away - to a bloody city hospital. She needs treatment. We don't have it here in the Mallee,' said Pa. And his tapping fingers could have said, That is because us Mallee folk don't generally need that sort of treatment.

'What do you mean? What sort of treatment?' Marjorie glared at Pa.

'You know what I mean,' growled Pa. 'Your mother's not right for this place. I said the Mallee would kill her in the end. And it's having a pretty damn good go at it right now.'

'No, we don't know.' And Marjorie was shouting again. 'We don't know anything! We're never told anything!'

'Yes you do. You bloody do know!' shouted Pa. 'You know as well as I do. We all bloody do.'

'Where is she going, Pa?' Ruby asked quietly, and her look stopped the pair of them short in their shouting.

'A damn fool mental hospital in the city. Your mother's gone stark raving mad.' His hands slapped down on the table. 'Now gorn and pack a case. When your father gets back, we have to drive to the city.'

But what about school? What about the chooks? What about the dogs? Who's going to milk the cow? Who's going to check the windmill? Who's going to go round the sheep? What am I going to say to everyone at school? These were all things Marjorie wanted to ask but she didn't have time because she only had time to pack a suitcase.

ABOUT 'WEARING PAPER DRESSES': You can talk about living in the Mallee. And you can talk about a Mallee tree. And you can talk about the Mallee itself: a land and a place full of red sand and short stubby trees. Silent skies. The undulating scorch of summer plains. Quiet, on the surface of things.

But Elise wasn't from the Mallee, and she knew nothing of its ways.

Discover the world of a small homestead perched on the sunburnt farmland of northern Victoria. Meet Elise, whose urbane 1950s glamour is rudely transplanted to the pragmatic red soil of the Mallee when her husband returns to work the family farm. But you cannot uproot a plant and expect it to thrive. And so it is with Elise. Her meringues don't impress the shearers, the locals scoff at her Paris fashions, her husband works all day in the back paddock, and the drought kills everything but the geraniums she despises.

As their mother withdraws more and more into herself, her spirited, tearaway daughters, Marjorie and Ruby, wild as weeds, are left to raise themselves as best they can. Until tragedy strikes, and Marjorie flees to the city determined to leave her family behind. And there she stays, leading a very different life, until the boy she loves draws her back to the land she can't forget...

MY THOUGHTS: Wearing Paper Dresses is a harsh but beautiful book. 1950s rural Victoria is a place where if it can't be fixed by a length of twine or a piece of wire, they don't know what to do with it. Such is Elise, a cultured city woman, non-Catholic, who tries to plant a rose garden in a place where it seldom rains and where, in the summer, the temperature is often over 100°F. She doesn't fit in. She doesn't understand the Mallee people any more than they understand her. She is isolated, alone, out there in the red dust with a father-in-law who resents the fragile creature his son has brought home, a woman who can't cook proper tucker, who can't even manage to make a decent smoko for the shearers. The townsfolk treat her with disdain and ridicule her. Her daughters watch her, and protect her when they can but, after all, they are only children. There is only so much they can do.

This was, in places, a hard book for me to read, and I shed a few tears; for Elise, for Ruby and Marjorie, for my mother, and for myself. I was nine years old when my mother had her first 'nervous breakdown' and was carted off to the psychiatric hospital, also far away in a big city, Auckland in this case.

Anne Brinsden has accurately captured the thoughts and emotions of all involved. The bewilderment, the misery, the fear, the uncertainty, are all felt and reflected upon, as is the watchfulness when Elise returns home, the girls always on the lookout for signs that she is slipping again.

I felt for Elise, I felt her desperation. I felt for her family, Bill who loved but didn't understand her, Jimmy Waghorn who lived in a hut on the farm and probably understood Elise better than anyone, even Pa who had never wanted her there in the first place, and the girls, Ruby who coped by never upsetting her mother and who tried to shield Marjorie as best she could, and Marjorie who was perpetually angry at everyone. But my favourite character was Jesse Mitchell, a boy from an abusive home, friend of Jimmy Waghorn, and who strikes up a secret and improbable friendship with Marjorie.

Interspersed occasionally in the narrative are extracts and adverts from journals, newspapers and other publications of the time: The Land, the Australian Woman's Weekly, the Weekly Times, as well as frequent references to the outback woman's bible, the Country Woman's Association Cookbook. No meringues in there!

Wearing Paper Dresses is an outstanding novel of relationships, prejudice and the harshness of outback life. Written in a unique style, Wearing Paper Dresses is not an easy or quick read, but it is a read that will make you think and stretch your emotional resources.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.2

THE AUTHOR: As far back as Anne can remember she has loved stories. Mostly, she would read them. But if there were no stories to read, she would make up her own. She lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne now with a couple of nice humans, an unbalanced but mostly nice cat and a family of magpies. But she lived all of her childhood in the Mallee in northern Victoria before heading for the city and a career as a teacher.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Waitomo District Library Book Club for their recommendation of Wearing Paper Dresses by Anne Brinsden, published by Pan Macmillan, Australia. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill and Elise and their two daughters, Ruby and Marjorie lived happily in Melbourne in the 1950s – until Bill’s mother passed away and left his father on his own on the farm in the Mallee. He tried, Pa did, but finally he called Bill to return to the farm to help out. The family made the long journey and while the two girls and Bill settled in reasonably well, Elise struggled. She had no idea of the food to feed the shearers when they arrived; she had no idea what food to take when asked to “take a plate”. Her music and art slowly stopped; her children grew fearful at Elise’s withdrawal.

Marjorie was taunted at school for her strange “city-girl” mother; she learned how to counteract the bullying in ways that Elise would have disapproved. The drought deepened across the Mallee; the farmers suffered. But would the fundraiser in the small town be the making of Elise? She was going to sing, and she had the voice of an angel. But still Marjorie and Ruby watched…

Wearing Paper Dresses is the debut novel for Aussie author Anne Brinsden and it is captivating, mesmerizing, completely amazing. The author has created characters of the trees, the house, the walls, the fences – every inanimate object is described in ways of great beauty. The descriptions are hard to explain but the reading of Wearing Paper Dresses is a delightful experience. Heartbreaking, emotional, fascinating. Beautifully written – and highly recommended.

With thanks to Pan Macmillan AU for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wearing Paper Dresses is set during the 1950’s in the farming area of the Mallee in Victoria. Shortly after the death of Bill's mother, he gets a call from his father asking him to go back to the farm to help him. Bill's wife, Elise, and their two daughters pack their bags and head towards the Mallee.

It didn’t take long for Bill and the girls to settle into farm life, but sadly for Elise she just couldn’t cope and she was struggling and as time went on it only seems to get worse for her. Then came the drought, which put a strain not only on the farmers of the Mallee, but on the entire community.

What a wonderfully crafted first novel by Australian author Anne Brinsden. I cannot begin to explain how much I have enjoyed this book. This book had everything you would want in a historical story with strong characters in such a well-described setting that you feel like you're just there. And I must make mention to the beautiful cover which I love. This is a must read for those who love to read historical fiction. Highly recommended.

[Amanda - Mrs B's Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com

4.5 stars


Wearing Paper Dresses is the debut novel by Anne Brinsden, and this novel has already been earmarked as an Australian classic. Brinsden’s writing has been compared to Colleen McCullough, Rosalie Ham and Elena Ferrante. These are big shoes to fill, but I feel that Anne Brinsden has made her very own special mark on the publishing world with her first novel. Wearing Paper Dresses is an emotional tribute to family and the land. Above all else, it is an utterly compelling coming of age tale.

Wearing Paper Dresses takes the reader into the harsh and unforgiving world inhabited by lead protagonist Elise and her two daughters. The family has moved to the country to save the sheep and wheat farm owned by Elise’s father in law. This stretch of farmland is incredibly isolated, located in the Mallee. Elise struggles to adapt to life on the homestead, as her creative pursuits and desire for a stunning rose garden just don’t mix in the Mallee. While her husband toils on the land, Elise spirals further and further into a pit of depression. Meanwhile, Elise’s two daughters, Marjorie and Ruby, are let loose while their mother convalesces. The girls must step up to plate and help manage the household in Elise’s absence. Things come to a head for the family when a tragic accident occurs and while no one is truly to blame, Marjorie cannot forgive herself. She escapes to the city, vowing never to return – but eventually the land comes calling for her yet again.

One of the greatest pleasures I have as a book reviewer is discovering new authors. Although Anne Brinsden, the author of Wearing Paper Dresses has been compared to handful of popular novelists, I really loved connecting with her signature style. I could see elements of Craig Silvey and Rosalie Ham in her prose, but I think Anne Brinsden has developed her own approach. I am looking forward to seeing just how far Brinsden’s writing will go in the future.

To begin, I really loved the structure of Wearing Paper Dresses. It carefully outlines the perspectives of Elise, the mother figure of this tale, and her two daughters. Interspersed within the narrative are short articles from The Australian Women’s Weekly, The Land Times and The Weekly Times. Accompanying these articles are advertisements and a Glossary of Terms. I found the Glossary of Terms helpful, as it provides the reader with a good picture of the specific terminology used in the central locale – at the time the book is set. These extra flourishes added another fabulous layer to this novel.

The land has such presence in this book, overseeing many of the events and the characters in the book. Even the house inhabited by the family in the novel has a strong impact on the reader. Anne Brinsden is clearly connected to the land, as Wearing Paper Dresses appears to be a strong tribute to the places and people she knows best. The descriptions of the setting of outback Mallee were beautifully rendered. I revelled in Brinsden’s prose, it was definitely unique. The dialogue employed by the characters in another highlight, it is quintessentially Australian and very localised, based on the informative glossary at the back of the book. I could very easily picture the people, the places and the happenings in this book, it was all incredibly vivid.

The narrative took a little while for me to settle into, but once I connected fully with the text, I was able to read this book in just two sittings. There are a vast range of topics and themes that circulate around Wearing Paper Dresses. I was able to pick up on relationships, familial connections, loss, isolation, hardship, freedom, mistakes, redemption, first love, friendship, expectation, belonging, misunderstanding and aspiration as core themes that arise during the progression of the novel. I do feel at the very heart of this novel, is the coming of age story of Marjorie, along with the sad situation of Elise’s struggles with mental health. At many times this book broke me in pieces. I felt bereft for the characters and the hopeless situations they faced. However, Anne Brinsden balances these moments with light touches of humour, stemming from the authentic dialogue, which definitely raised this book up when I was feeling quite down. The final two pages of this novel was so poignant, it left a big impression on my heart and soul – thanks to Anne Brinsden for this stunning set piece.

On a side note, the stunning front cover paper dress design will definitely draw in those readers who have a weakness for covers. This is one of the most symbolic and exquisite covers I have seen this year.

Wearing Paper Dresses is an atmospheric novel, which captures the very essence of the Australian spirit. The strong characterisation, absorbing narrative and immersive setting makes this a novel fans of Australian fiction shouldn’t miss at all.

*I wish to thank Pan Macmillan for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.

Wearing Paper Dresses is book #121 of the 2019 Australian Women Writers Challenge

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Bill is from rural Australia but living in the city he meets and marries Elise. They have two daughters, Ruby and Marjorie. When his mother dies, Bill brings Elise back to the Mallee to help his father run the wheat and sheep farm. But Elise is a city girl who knows knowing of the ways of the people living in the Mallee. No matter how hard she tries, it seems they don’t want to know her and her ways. The shearers scoff at her dainty meringues, the locals at her clothes and manners. The time is the 1950s. The things Elise is good at, singing opera, playing piano and drawing are not valued by the locals. Meanwhile, Bill is working all the time on the drought stricken property, where the precious flowers Elise wants to grow refuse to grow. As their mother withdraws further into herself daughters, Ruby and Marjorie are left pretty much to themselves. But they watch and wait and try and protect their mother. And then tragedy hits in a way no-one expected.
The main character in this novel is without doubt the landscape of the Mallee. It dominates the pages. But the characters of Elise, Marjorie, Ruby, Bill, and Pa are all well drawn as are some of the townsfolk. I loved two special males in Jimmy Waghorn and Jesse, who the reader first meets when Marjorie is at school. Aunty Agnes is also a lovely character. One incident involving dresses made out of crepe paper evoked memories for me of my own mother. I can’t remember how old I was, pretty young at school and she made me a white dress with red hearts all out of crepe paper. I was the queen of hearts. I felt every bit a queen in it.
This is a stunning, haunting, atmospheric, heartbreaking story, although it is not without some moments of humour. The writing is as beautiful as the cover and the setting of the house and community in the Mallee is brilliantly portrayed. Once I started I never wanted to put this book down. Sentence by sentence, page by page it drew me in. A stunning piece of literature that absolutely tugged on the full gamut of emotions. I highly recommend this book as an experience not to be missed.

[Veronica ⭐️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wearing Paper Dresses is a beautifully written, heartbreaking story of mental illness and a family struggling to keep their head above water in the harsh Australian Mallee region.

The drought is in full force and son Bill is sent to the city to earn money to help support his parents back on the farm. He meets city girl Elise, refined and beautiful.

“Bill was from the Mallee, which meant he didn’t muck around either. He asked Elise to marry him – even though she was a non-catholic. And out of his league.”

They marry and have two children, Ruby and Marjorie. When Bill’s mother dies the family returns to the farm. Elise came from hats, gloves and pearls and tea in the Botanical Gardens to the dry, parched heat of the Mallee. Elise’s city ways never seem to fit in. The heat is oppressive and her French meringues are scorned. Ruby and Marjorie become as wild as the land around them.

Wearing Paper Dresses is captivating and immersive. It is not an easy read and does take some concentration but the reader is rewarded with a story that will capture your heart and leave you wondering if things could have turned out any differently.

The story follows Ruby and Marjorie as they grow up trying to protect their mother, always on alert for when the next bout of depression will hit. The girls are shunned at school and teased about their crazy mother.

In a place and time when men didn’t talk and feelings were kept inside the townsfolk offer Bill and Pa help in their own way.

Brinsden uses personification expansively and skilfully. Everything comes to life; the house, the trees, the weather. It’s a feast for the mind!

Wearing Paper Dresses is a story about life with all its harshness but from the depths of despair comes a glimmer of hope.

Anne Brinsden’s riveting debut has placed her firmly on the list of authors to watch out for.

I received my copy from the publisher

[Natalie M · Rating 5 out of 5]

My discovery for 2019, new Australian author Amy Brinsden.

I started the novel after discovering a few fantastic reviews on Good Reads and I am so glad I did (thank you GR for always providing inspiration).

Brinsden’s writing develops as the novel progresses, from straightforward storytelling to multilayered and multifaceted magical story weaving. Her glossary will help those unfamiliar with terms and phrases but a fantastic depiction of the Australian identity is created in this novel. And don’t let the authenticity of Outback Australia deter you - it is vivid and accurate.

This book should be on all Senior school reading lists! Without effort or pretense the novel has some of the most poignant extended metaphors, personification, repetition, imagery and allusion (all the techniques are evident- those stood out), I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Great central characters for YA and they would relate to the parental issues being experienced.

Absolutely beautiful in tragedy and hope. Themes of family, survival, Mental Health and resilience add to the stunning depiction of life on the land. Modern Young adults could do with a dose of life as it may really be. A must read for all! Highly recommended!

[Carol - Reading Writing and Riesling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! You MUST read this book !!!!!

My View:
This is by far one of the stand out reads of 2019 and deservedly will find a place on my “Best of 2019 “reads.

This book evokes country Australia, small town, impoverished, drought struck Australia. It is all hard angles and tough decisions. It is mesmerising. It is relatable. It is real. It is mental health issues in an accessible relatable format. It is life. It is love. It is family.

Read it. You MUST.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had it not been for a friend telling me she loved this novel, I probably wouldn't have read it.

The novel begins in the 1950s, when Elise, an opera singer, marries Bill, a Mallee farmer's son, who moved to the city to make money to help support his father's farm.
Due to unhappy circumstances, Bill and Elise have to move to the farm. The Mallee is a region in Victoria, Australia, named after the mallee tree. It's very flat, dry and hot. They have two daughters in two years, Ruby is beautiful and serene, Marjorie is clingy and moody. The sisters are inseparable. The years pass by. The elegant, artistic Elise doesn't fit in with the pragmatic, harsh, tedious, repetitious life on a farm. Her cooking is too fancy and lacks when it comes to making a good grab to hold the men over. She drifts, changes, disappears within herself.

This is a novel about family, farming life, loneliness, not fitting in, rural people's conservatism and/or narrow mindedness, but also about their helping spirit. Mental illness is also at its core. It doesn't affect just the sufferer but also those close to them. The men don't know what to do about "a nervy woman", the children do their best but they're just kids.

This kind of story has been told before. The beautiful writing is what elevates this novel. It flows, it meanders and it floats. It tells the story with vivid details. I can't believe this is a debut novel.
Let's hope Brinsden is not just one of those writers who only have one novel in them. I was so impressed with Brinsden's writing, I'll read whatever else she writes.

A huge shoutout to Danielle Carter, whose narration was marvellous.

[MaryG2E · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel has been likened to The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham, and I definitely think it crosses similar terrain to that famous book. Wearing Paper Dresses is set in the Victorian Mallee in the 1950s, and concerns a struggling farming family and its relationships with each other, the environment and the community. The wheat-and-sheep farm is located outside a small town, impoverished by drought and lack of opportunity, with inward looking residents of low education and even lower expectations. Into this dry, austere environment, Bill brings his city-born wife Elise and their two young daughters, Ruby and Marjorie, to help his father, Pa, to save the stricken family farm.

It is a rude culture shock for Elise, classically trained musician and singer, and talented artist. She finds it overwhelmingly difficult to settle into the working life of the farm and into the spirit of the small, narrow-minded community. Over time she sinks into mental illness, a situation which is not helped by the prevailing male attitude that ‘delicate women are nervy’, and don’t belong on a farm in the harsh realities of the Mallee.

Indeed, the unwillingness of the menfolk of the family, and the town, to show understanding and compassion is a key factor which underlies the premise of the novel. Elise’s behaviour has huge impacts on the family, in particular on her children. Ruby is the perfect daughter, calm, caring and diligent, whereas Marjorie is volatile, rebellious and adventurous. They suffer at school from the jibes leveled at them by classmates who label Elise as weird. Marjorie's growing alienation from both family and community leads her to seek out companionship with similarly marginalised individuals. Elise’s descent into madness fractures the family and leads to tragic consequences for the daughters.

Before the breakdown, Elise tried mightily to fit in and to make her life in the Mallee meaningful. The subplot relating to the paper dresses is delightful, and demonstrates her finest qualities. She could have been an invaluable member of that grim little community, but was defeated by the small-mindedness of the locals.

Anne Brinsden’s novel pursues some really important themes, the most obvious of which is the oppression of women in the era before the second wave of feminism. Secondly, and related to the first, is the prevaling attitude to mental health, which belittled and demonised those living with psychological issues. I think Brinsden has done an excellent job in exposing the attitudes to, and treatment of people with mental illness in a less enlightened period of history.

Furthermore, I applaud Brinsden for taking on one of the entrenched assumptions inherent in Australian society, then and now. In doing so, she challenges one of the central beliefs of Australian national identity. The rhetoric tells us that the nation is built on the backbone of the family farm, that our farmers exemplify the essence of the true Aussie spirit. In Wearing Paper Dresses Anne Brinsden offers the reader a different perspective, exposing the flaws in the family farm mantra, and, furthermore suggesting that city life also has an important role to play in Australian society. This is never more true than in the 21st century when we are dealing with the impact of human-induced climate change on our environment.

I found this novel to be a most rewarding and illuminating read. It is literary fiction, with some unconventional narrative passages. I do not think it will appeal to every reader’s tastes. For those who can accept the sometimes quirky words, it is well worth the effort to press on and immerse yourself in the dry, dusty world of the Mallee in the 1950s. This is one of the best novels I’ve read in ages about rural Australia. 5+ stars.

[Jodie- Readthewriteact · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book certainly was off to a slow start but I am glad that I stuck with it. The first third for me had me skim reading because honestly not much happened, really not a terrible lot happened in the whole book despite how many years it covered. It's a strange book that's more character centric but at the same time there are still a lot about the characters I don't feel I know. Marjorie and Jesse are maybe the only two characters I think that were fully developed. Elise isn't easy to understand but she is meant to be written that way due to her mental illness, as for the rest, who knows.

I felt that as the book progressed and Elise's mental state declined it was almost like reading the same thing over and over. I think that for Ruby and Marjorie, especially Marjorie the cycle of mental health decline and denial would have been incredibly frustrating. Her father and grandfather just wanted to put their heads in the sand and ignore it time and time again. Their incompetence at recognising the situation had me shaking my head and left me as a reader just waiting for the next big issue.

The ending was satisfactory but didn't blow me away. All in all I thought it was a good read but not the best Australian fiction I have come across.

[Pan Macmillan Australia]

This is a debut novel from an Australian writer who has a great future if this book is anything to go by. Anne grew up in the north Victorian Mallee near Mildura and the harshness and isolation of farming life out there oozes out of every page. Set in the 1950’s, we see the toll this takes on a city girl with two young children who is taken there by her husband to help his ageing, misogynistic father save the family’s wheat and sheep farm. Seen through the eyes of the two girls as they grow up, watching their mother’s always fragile emotional state decay ever more rapidly over the years and the toll this takes on everyone. Yet there are many humorous moments too which is one of the main things that keeps humans surviving in harsh places. What I found so beautiful in Anne’s writing is the way everything in the book is a ‘character’, not only the family and people in the town, but the house, the weather, the soil and the vegetation. The way she describes the house resisting all of the mother’s work to beautify it, and the red dirt that fights against her attempts to grow flowering things is imaginative and draws the reader in totally. The best authors can make you feel the heat and the cold and dryness and this is exactly what Anne does. - Leanne

[Claire Louisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Beauty and Lace Bookclub and MacMillan Australia for a copy of this book.

This was a difficult read for me. I struggled with the narration style of the novel, it did nothing to draw me in and took a good 90 pages for me to get used to the style of narration and the ‘being told a story’ rather than feeling part of the story.

The prose was lyrical and at times it had some profound things to say such as “Because Marjorie saw that some people are chipped and damaged, cracked and frayed, exquisite and talented. But they care. They love whatever they can. In spite of their madness and their sadness, they still try. But some people are just mean bastards.”

But its lyrical way of being narrated didn’t work for me, I wasn’t really drawn into the story until nearly halfway and even then I wasn’t really enjoying it, just reading because I wanted to get to the end and find out what, if anything, happened. And really for a novel of nearly 400 pages, not too much did happen.

It is a story about mental illness, the struggles it can cause not just for the person suffering, but those who care for that person. Elise has a serious mental illness and this is the cause of a massive tragedy, it is also the cause of many smaller tragedies that affect her children, her husband, and her father-in-law. The people in the country weren’t particularly kind people, they were judgemental and cruel at times, and at others banded together, but often too late.

It’s definitely not a happy story and it mostly focuses on Marjorie who is at times cruel and unfeeling, but I think this can be related to the struggles of dealing with her mother.

Many people have thoroughly enjoyed this novel, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.

[Hayley (meet_me_at_the_library) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne Brinsden’s debut novel is being hailed as an Australian classic, and I can see why! With its beautiful prose and vivid imagery, Wearing Paper Dresses really brings the Mallee region of Australia to life.

It’s a heartbreaking portrayal of the effects of mental health issues on families and communities, and the harsh realities of farming in an inhospitable landscape. I found it quite a difficult read in places but the characters really endear themselves to the reader and you can’t help but be touched by their stories. And did I mention the beautiful prose? Because it really was lovely. Brinsden has a special way with words and she manages to give life to places and inanimate objects.

I loved this one! I highly recommend picking it up if you’re looking for a unique story with heart.

Rating: 4.5 rounded up

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Pan Macmillan Australia in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

So atmospheric, The Mallee is a character in itself. Sandy and arid, home to the stubborn Mallee gum tree where rain is magical and mystical.
Many a person has gone mad in The Mallee and this is a tale of womanly madness in the 1950s and the effects on her family.
I had been putting off reading this, writing it off a little as light chick-lit. The title lead me to think that, but it's far more than that. The characters came alive while I was listening to this.
I was also reminded of my own Little Po-Peep costume my mother made me out of crape paper for a 70s Primary school thing. I recall that I danced with a dashing Lawrence of Arabia who was draped in a white sheet (alias, grinning Ronnie from grade 3). Back then no one spent good money on a kids costume. I wore it to death for subsequent dress-ups, crape paper streaming behind me. So it wasn't just in The Mallee, I'm sure, but we were certainly better off than those that were scrapping a living from the land.
Beautiful narration. I hope this author writes more, I'll be much quicker on the uptake for any further work she puts out.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read Wearing Paper Dresses by Anne Brinsden.
As soon as I saw the beautiful cover of this book I knew it would be a beautiful story.

This is a book about living in the middle of The Mallee. It’s unforgiving droughts, mental illness, hard times and coping with extreme situations.

Elise is a city girl through and through so when she meets and falls in love with country boy Bill it surprises their families.
After Bill and Elise marry, Bill is called back to the family farm in the middle of The Malee where Elise finds life quiet challenging with their two daughters.

The locals can’t understand why a lady would drink coffee and make meringues instead of scones!!

Set in the 1950’s where mental illness is not understood especially in The Mallee.

Tragedy strikes this family and they will never be the same again.
Can the family pull together and try to cope with their grief in their own ways?

I found this story sucked me in to their world and into their unforgiving land like I was there.

#BeautyandLace#
#BeautyandLacebooks#
#BeautyandLaceOnline#
#PanMacmillanAustralia#

[Anna Loder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot believe the blurb on the back. I am so glad I didn’t read it until the end. I absolutely LOVED the cover. I had it picked as a completely different coming of age story. It took me ages to get into, but once I was I wondered why. For me it’s such an original style of story. I thought the way living with someone with mental illness was told was so poignantly. I loved the setting and the way the land was absolutely a main character. I loved the exploration of the sense of belonging vs being an outsider. I loved Jesse and Jimmy Waghorn, I was so left wanting more of their stories. Absolutely hauntingly beautiful.

[Lesley Moseley · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATE 6th Feb, 2020 : On my FB feed : Anne Brinsden Author
28 January at 12:16 ·
Shortlisted for the Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction 2020

For a book to have so many parallels to my own life, capture the essence of marginal area farming, and make me hold my breath for the last few pages, can only be awarded a fully deserved 5 stars.

For a debut novel, I am astounded at the competence, both of the author, but also the whole production team. Well done, can't wait for the next one.

Most exciting discovery since Leap by Myfanwy Jones

[marlin1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a book that I was skim reading a lot for the first 1/3 or so and neatly put aside as a DNF, I cannot believe I have rated this 5 stars at the end!
But there was a turning point for me and after that I didn’t want to let the characters go. I cannot tell you how many times I had a tight chest and tears in my eyes. Loved it.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very moody, moving novel set in the Mallee which is wide and huge and often unforgiving. Seeking to find a definition of the Mallee, where it is and what it is, this is probably the closest I found "the Mallee is renowned for its vast spaces, clear blue skies, unique landscape and strong local communities." Anne Brinsden's novel Wearing Paper Dresses draws us into the Mallee and we look at it through the eyes of Elise, Ruby, Marjorie, Bill, Pa and Wheat Bag Boy Jesse. The pace of the novel is slow and deliberate, it deals with the harshness of life on the land through the rough seasons but it's more than that. It focusses on the life of Elise who finds herself in the Mallee, overwhelming and suffocating her which sadly triggers a life long struggle with mental illness. Her family's constant attempts to cope with Elise and her up and down, difficult heartbreaking condition has massive and devastating impacts on everyone. Her two daughters Ruby and Marjorie bear the full brunt of her unstable behaviour with very sad consequences. However the old-time wisdom and optimism of Pa often comes in at the right time to put people back on course, the community show their true colours firstly in a negative way but then in many other quiet subtle ways help this Mallee family to keep going. Bill is forever hopeful that his wife Elise will come back to him, he protects her and finds it incredibly difficult to reveal his true feelings to his family and his relationship with Elise is kept private and hidden away from the reader too. But the friendship between Jesse and Marjorie is delightfully warm and loyal (although often one-sided), there are moments of humour and much needed light to provide the reader with a sense of how the belief in a person can be powerful and life-changing. This is a story of family, friendship and love - love for the community, love for each other even when it's really, really tough and love for The Mallee - a place none of them can forget.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a novel!!
I was transported to the Mallee in the '50s. The language and the poetry of the writing was sublime.
Linking the harshness of living in the Mallee with the difficulties in living with 'nerves' was very compelling. The relationship between Marjorie, Ruby and their mother, Elise, was both frustrating and beautiful. The bond between the sisters defied the upheavals in their lives.
Marjorie was complex. Both immature and old beyond her years. Her swearing was masterful!
A look at family, mental health, fitting in, responsibilities and the harsh realities of the environment.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wearing Paper Dresses is the story of life in The Mallee in all its harshness and its beauty. It is the story of a city girl and her struggles to fit into the country way of life. It is the impact of mental illness on a family, and how when tragedy strikes, the devastation is crushing and overwhelming. It is both heartbreaking and uplifting, and is one of my most treasured reads of the year.

[Lizz · Rating 5 out of 5]

When trying to think of words to some up Wearing Paper Dresses, I think of just two. One being wow, the other being beautiful.

Set in the Australian Outback in Victoria in the 1950’s, Elise, a city girl, along with her country husband and two children return to his home of Mallee. You see Elise trying to fight the stigma of a country town, and the stigma of what a housewife should be in the 1950’s.

Marjorie and Ruby are free spirited and run wild, while struggling to understand and come to terms with their mother’s untreated mental illness, while also just wanting to be kids, growing up and finding out who they really are.

The writing was so beautifully crafted, there were so many parts through out that I could picture myself out in the country, sitting on a bench at night by the fire, I could feel the heat of a hot summers day and humid nights, and the sweet smell of much needed rain, and having not only the people as characters, but the house, Mallee itself, the trees and the red dirt really pulled it together.


From how mental illness wasn’t really heard of, taken seriously or treated properly back then, grumpy grandpas to young love, and showing that when times are tough, people rally and come together and help each other, whether they have a little or a lot which shows that Australian fight and spirit we love so much, Wearing Paper Dresses was a beautifully written and crafted story, one I recommend everybody should read.

Thank you to the amazing team at Pan Macmillan Aus for sending me a copy of Wearing Paper Dresses for review.

[Katie Clews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written story essentially about mental illness... I loved Marjorie and Ruby and how they navigated their way living on the land with an absent mother who suffered multiple mental breakdowns..

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

By some measures this is a difficult read. Set in some of the harshest terrain in Australia with descriptions of the Mallee that leave the reader with no doubt that life for someone brought up in this landscape would have to be incredibly resilient and stubborn. Stubborn enough to try and make a go of farming. Only with the introduction of Superphosphate and other fertilisers have made farming in some of these areas possible.

Hard enough for locals, almost impossible for someone from the city like Elise, who had no chance of making a go of it given her personality. Elise, marrying Bill who then worked in the city wouldn't have dreamt that she would end up in such a dust bowl but when he was contacted by his Pa telling him that he was too old to continue by himself, Bill had to return to help run the farm and Elise finds herself in such a place.

After having two children, both girls, Ruby and Marjorie the story continues its life around them and in particular Marjorie. Ruby is the eldest and like many first children she shoulders more responsibility, she is the perfect child, born into this world without fuss, always reliable, caring and courteous. Marjorie on the other hand arrived kicking and screaming leaving her mother almost on death's door and unable to have any more children. Marjorie doesn't change much from the screaming baby as she grows, she just doesn't fit into this world, always out of step with everyone else, picked on at home and at school and while a frightened little girl she still seems to open her mouth at the wrong time, she uses slang words and growing older swears like their Pa.

The heat, the dust, the willy willys and the gossiping town eventually take a toll on Elise, mental breakdown is at the door. The family realise this but the children are unable to help a great deal and become angry with their father's expectations of them. He's out farming, from before daylight to dusk. Fortunately a farmhand who lives nearby Jimmy Waghorn sees the trouble emerging and by encouraging Elise to sing again at the piano brings some relief to the household. However it doesn't last and Elise is admitted to a mental institution. Marjorie with all her own troubles runs to Jimmy's after the family are in bed which becomes a bit of a ritual. Jesse, a boy with a violent drunken father, also finds solace at Jimmy's.

As the story moves from one disaster to another with Elise again committed to a mental institution after Ruby dies from being burnt in a terrible accident, Marjorie is unable to see that all their troubles were not her fault, rather the fault of the two men in the household giving her too much responsibility when it was theirs. She moves to the city to live with her Aunt but it is a long time before she can resolve things enough to get a job. For her life of speaking out of turn, she now keeps most of her thoughts to herself. Jesse writes to her constantly but after no replies goes to the city and seeks her out. Marjorie now much older is able to see things clearer and tells Jesse she'll never return home but after her mother is released once again from the Institution she does return to help with another concert for another drought appeal. Concern that Elise is going off the rails with the responsibility of the concert, Marjorie steps in, takes over the sewing of the crepe paper costumes with the threat to her mother that if she stops taking her pills she will trash all of them. Elise on a steady path with the help of her medication succeeds in producing a great event. Marjorie, can now move back to the city and enjoy life living with her Aunt.

[Brittney Gibbon · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There are some things in life that are more than anybody’s best. No matter how hard a person might try, some things in life are going to find a way to get the better of us.”



Wearing Paper Dresses is an emotionally charged, atmospheric tale that I implore every single one of you to read. I devoured this book in one devastating, full-of-ugly-crying sitting, and I honestly just cannot rave about it enough.

Brinsden so effortlessly transports her reader to the dusty, stubborn outback of the Mallee; she writes of her location as though it is a conscious being with a mind of its own. I could feel the heat of the sun, feel that dry, red dirt on my skin, and I could see those shearers taking their smoko in the shade of the working shed. The scene was set so beautifully, and this gorgeous prose continued right throughout—from glittery smiles to piano strings wound too tightly, the metaphors and language made this an absolute delight to read; touching me in a way that a book hasn’t for a long time.

The story is told from Marjorie’s perspective; the youngest child. Marjorie’s mother is not well. We join Marjorie on her journey from childhood, to adolescence, through to adulthood. We shift from an excitement around days with mum planning rose gardens in the desert, to confusion and resentment toward the same kind of behaviour. Then we have anger, blame, guilt, and finally a path to understanding and acceptance; all navigated in a delicate, truly astounding way.

At its heart this book is an exploration of mental illness and the heartbreaking outcomes of mental health issues going untreated. As this family try to navigate Elise’s illness they fail the children in so many ways. The fact that no one knew any better might explain why but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating. A combination of ignorance, denial, unrealistic expectations and an unfair amount of responsibility being placed on the shoulders of children hits hard. The eventual culmination of these parental shortcomings left me in pieces.

Brinsden has taken a harsh landscape, some very delicate subject matter and created a truly stunning read. As gut-wrenching as it was, this is easily one of my favourite books read this year and I cannot believe it is a debut novel!

I’d also like to take a minute to quickly appreciate the character of Pa. A cantankerous old bastard, whose ranting and raving is intimidating as all hell if you don’t know any better, but full of heart and more perceptive than most, once you scratch the surface. He could have been based on my own Pop, meaning that I understood him completely (as I’ve come to understand my own Pop as I’ve gotten older) and making him my favourite character of the book.



“Some people are chipped and damaged, cracked and frayed, exquisite and talented. But they care. They love whenever and wherever they can. In spite of their madness and their sadness, they still try.”

[Kiwiflora · Rating 2 out of 5]

'It was OK' is what 2 stars mean. I feel ungrateful giving anything less than 3 which means 'I liked it'. But really that is all it was for me - 2stars. So why? The blurb, as another GoodReads reviewer says, has so much going for it. 1950s Australia - glamorous, cultural and urbane opera singer Elise from Melbourne falls wildly in love with Bill, whose family owns a farm out in the middle of nowhere. Bill is a reluctant farmer and is very happy to live in the big smoke away from the dry hot climate, the impossible soil, the demands and expectations of his family, the small-mindedness of the locals. They marry, have two children - Ruby and Marjorie - the latter is the narrator. Life is great until Bill is required back at the farm. You can see this is not going to end well for Elise and Bill - the urban and rural existences just completely incompatible. Elise is a complete and total misfit, unable in any way at all to adjust to her new life and the expectations made of her as a farmer's wife. The two girls are left to fend for themselves as their mother's mental health deteriorates, and she falls apart. A tragedy occurs which rips the family apart, resulting in Marjorie running away to Melbourne where she lives with an aunt and attempts to start her life over. Her one escape while growing up on the farm is a school mate whose own home life is pretty awful too. Together these two find refuge, solace and comfort in each other, but even this is not enough to help Marjorie deal with disaster when it strikes.

So great plot as you can see, plenty of scope. But it took a very long time for much of this to happen. The tragedy, when it finally occurs, is two thirds of the way through the book, when my eyes are beginning to glaze over because nothing continues to happen. With Marjorie and Ruby increasingly out of their depth dealing with their obviously seriously ill mother, and her husband and other family seemingly incapable of getting help for her, the constant judging and gossip from the locals - it is all just hopeless and went on for far too long. Fortunately our minds and eyes are bigger and open wider now, and I would like to think that a woman so out of place and her children would get the help and support so desperately needed. And that people would stop being so judgemental.

By the ending, things have resolved themselves to some extent, although plenty of internal agonising to get there. Time has softened the edges of tragedy and trauma. But I did wonder, as things were on the up, if this was likely to be a permanent thing. My heart tells me Marjorie may end up going down the same path as her mother...

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing in this story is just exquisite - you just stop and have to re-read it or tell someone “listen to this”. The story is about a city girl transported to the Mallee in Victoria - totally out of her depth. Her inability to cope and how it affects her family is just heart-wrenching to watch. The descriptions of this dust-bowl rural life, where the Mallee, the bush and even the house are characters in this story alongside the stoic kind people that watch helplessly, are just gut wrenching. If you love an Aussie tale, this is for you - an amazing debut novel full of despair, hope and love.

[Cazbookmagnet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love!