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Spider Cup

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Does a wife exist only when her husband is contemplating her?....A wife is called into being only by a husband: therefore does she cease to exist when he stops observing her, stops regarding her?

Elinor leaves her husband suddenly and goes to France, to the village of Severac-le-Chateau. There she ponders the lives of other women. In the seventeenth century a wife is murdered for faithlessness: in the early twentieth century a woman embroiders sheets for a trousseau never needed; in the 1980's a successful pediatrician may or may not know what her husband is up to.

Elinor's process of transformation - from a wife to a self - is written with subtlety and humour. The journey she undertakes is more than a journey of the flesh.

Cover illustration; List Herriman
Cover design, Ellie Kinigopoulos

153 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

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About the author

Marion Halligan

37 books18 followers
Marion Halligan AM was an Australian writer and novelist. Born and educated in Newcastle, New South Wales, she worked as a school teacher and journalist prior to turning to full time writing.

A long time resident of Canberra, she was a member of a group of women writers based in Canberra known as the "Canberra Seven" or "Seven Writers" (1980-1997).

She has won and been shortlisted for numerous significant awards, notably for The Point, Lovers' Knots, Spider Cup and The Golden Dress.

In 2006 Halligan was made a Member in the Order of Australia (AM), General Division, for services to literature and for her work in promoting Australian literature.

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Profile Image for Tricia.
2,114 reviews25 followers
November 24, 2024
A woman leaves her husband when she finds out he has been having an affair. She goes to France to find herself.

I thought this was ok.
32 reviews2 followers
April 22, 2012
This book inspired my first trip to France. The descriptions of Severac Le Chateau and the surrounding region opened up a world to me that I felt I needed to explore. The break up of a relationship, the forging of new ones, the ties between friends and lovers - an honest tale.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

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