She's Fantastical: The First Anthology of Australian Women's Speculative Fiction, Magical Realism and Fantasy

by Lucy Sussex (Editor), Judith Raphael Buckrich (Editor), Ursula K. Le Guin (Introduction)

Available for the first time in North America, this unique anthology of women's speculative fiction, magic realism and fantasy blends stories and poems to fully explore the science fiction genre. As Ursula K. Le Guin writes in her foreword: Fantasy has always been a rebel's mode, a means of sneakily saying unwelcome or disturbing things about one's society, or of offering a more or less plausible alternative to it. The stories and poems in this book are all, in one way or another, fantastic, all are rebellious, subversive, critical, or teasing, cheerfully or fiercely knocking the posts from under the status quo. Contributors include Carmel Bird, Isobelle Carmody, Henriette Dugdale, M. Barnard Eldershaw, Sarah Endacott, Leanne Frahm, Alison Goodman, Sue Isle, Lisa Jacobson, Berni M. Janssen, Gabrielle Lord, Rosaleen Love, Philippa Maddern, Hyllus Maris, Maurilia Meehan, Yvonne Rousseau, Jane Routley, Petrina Smith, Lucy Sussex, Daisy Utemorrah, Ania Walwicz, Nadia Wheatley and Tess Williams.

5 • Acknowledgements (She's Fantastical) • essay by uncredited
• 6 • Saint Martha According to Deborah Klein: Cover Art • essay by Deborah Klein
• 7 • Foreword (She's Fantastical) • essay by Ursula K. Le Guin
• 13 • Introduction (She's Fantastical) • essay by Judith Raphael Buckrich and Lucy Sussex
• 19 • Alinta - 'The Flame' (from "Women of the Sun") • (1983) • poem by Hyllus Maris
• 20 • Maydina - 'The Shadow' (from "Women of the Sun") • (1983) • poem by Hyllus Maris
• 21 • The Master Builder's Wife • (1993) • shortstory by Lisa Jacobson
• 31 • The Goddess Wakes • shortstory by Jane Routley
• 46 • Widow Wilberforce and the Lyrebird • shortstory by Nadia Wheatley
• 60 • The Pumpkin-Eater • shortstory by Isobelle Carmody
• 77 • Aubade, from "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" • shortfiction by Marjorie Barnard and Flora Eldershaw (variant of Aubade from "Tomorrow and Tomorrow" (excerpt) 1947) [as by M. Barnard Eldershaw ]
• 92 • One Last Picture of Ruby-Rose (A Letter to Kevin Arnett) • shortstory by Carmel Bird
• 98 • Angel Thing • novelette by Petrina Smith
• 119 • from "The Sea People" • shortfiction by Maurilia Meehan
• 122 • Entropy • shortstory by Leanne Frahm
• 130 • Science Fiction • poem by Sarah Endacott [as by Sarah Carmela Helen Endacott ]
• 132 • Flight • shortstory by Ania Walwicz
• 138 • Possum Lover • novelette by Yvonne Rousseau
• 167 • The Blinding of Bellevue Hearn • shortstory by Alison Goodman
• 175 • from "SAW" • poem by Berni M. Janssen
• 176 • Angel Jacko • (1987) • shortstory by Gabrielle Lord
• 185 • A Sky Full of Ravens • shortstory by Sue Isle
• 196 • from "A Few Hours in a Far-Off Age" • (1883) • shortfiction by Henrietta Dugdale
• 202 • A Tour Guide in Utopia • shortstory by Lucy Sussex
• 211 • The Know-All • shortstory by Rosaleen Love
• 223 • Not With Love • shortstory by Philippa C. Maddern
• 240 • The Padwan Affair • shortstory by Tess Williams
• 251 • Our Mother Land • (1990) • poem by Daisy Utemorrah
• 253 • Biographies (She's Fantastical) • essay by uncredited

Genres: Anthologies, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Science Fiction

260 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

About the author

Lucy Sussex's books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. Her forthcoming book is Outrageous Fortunes.

Reviews

[Jaq · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reminder that the women of Australia can and do write amazing, thoughtful fantasy. Loved the variety and voices.

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of SFF stories by Australian women focused on female experience.

[Elizabeth Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Published in 1995 (and featuring a few historical works), some of the stories were quite dated in their ideas and overall I found the style a bit too experimental for my taste.

[Wolverina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good shit yo.

Actually excellent Australian work from mid-90s feminist SF.

The works include poetry and extracts of work from women throughout the 20th century but yeah. Amazing quality and a very thoughtful collection.


The fonts are pretty weird though.

[bluetyson]

She's Fantastical: The First Anthology of Australian Women's Speculative Fiction, Magical Realism and Fantasy by Lucy Sussex (2002)

[kyliemm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Definitely liked some better than others. Still, a good Australian sci-fi/fantasy feminist collection to have, if you're into that sort of thing.

[MELISSA · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow stories about were posums, angels ,princesses and everything in between,
such a wonderful collection of Australian women writers.You all rock !