Estelle Thompson Explained

Estelle May Thompson (1930–2003) was an Australian crime fiction writer, author of 16 novels and one biographical memoir. Her crime thrillers have been published worldwide in hardcover and paperback, most also in large print editions, Braille and/or as audio cassettes. Five have been translated.^[1]

Life

Thompson was born 9 October 1930 in Gympie, Queensland to Andrew Thompson, a dairy farmer of Irish descent, and his wife Lillias May (née Nahrung). She said that she wrote in her spare time whilst living on the family farm at Nambour near Brisbane.^[2]

Three of Thompson's novels where nominated for the Miles Franklin Literary Award: The Lawyer and the Carpenter in 1963; The Edge of Nowhere in 1965; and The Wrong Saturday in 1968.^{[3] [4] [5]}

Thompson's sixth novel, Find a Crooked Sixpence, was serialised in The Australian Women's Weekly.^[6]

Thompson's death on 28 May 2003 was reported in the Brisbane Courier Mail as "late of Dulong".^[7]

Publications

• A Twig is Bent, Abelard-Schuman, 1961
• The Lawyer and the Carpenter, Hodder & Stoughton, 1963
• The Edge of Nowhere, Hodder & Stoughton, 1965
• The Glass Houses, Hodder & Stoughton, 1967
• The Wrong Saturday, Hodder & Stoughton, 1968,
• Find a Crooked Sixpence, Hodder & Stoughton, 1970; Walker, 1977,
• A Mischief Past, Hale, 1971,
• Three Women in the House, Hale, 1973,
• The Meadows of Tallon, Hale, 1974,
• Hunter in the Dark, Walker, 1978; Walker & Co,
• To Catch a Rainbow, Hale, 1979,
• The Heir to Fairfield, Robert Hale, 1983,
• A Bridge Over Time : Living in Arnhemland with the Aborigines, 1938-1944 from the memories of Harold Thornell, J M Dent, 1986, ; & Robert Hale, 1986,
• A Toast to Cousin Julian, Hale, 1986,
• The Substitute, Robert Hale, 1991, ; re-published as Death by Misadventure, St Martin’s Press, 1992; Worldwide, 1993,
• Come Home to Danger, Robert Hale, 1998,
• The Road to Seven-Thirty, Robert Hale, 2000,

Translations

• A Twig is Bent

Was du nicht weisst, macht dich nicht tot, (German edition) Scherz, 1982,
Le verger de la peur : roman, (French edition) Les Editions Mondiales, 1962

• The Wrong Saturday

De fatale zaterdag, translated into Dutch by J. C. Torringa-Timmer, Davidsfond, 1974,
Lourd de menaces, translated into French by C. Wourgaft, Gallimard, 1970

• Three Women in the House

Tödlicher Hass : Roman, (German edition) Wilhelm Heyne, 1975,

• The Meadows of Tallon

Eine feine Familie, translated into German by Ingrid Herrmann, Scherz, 1982,

• Hunter in the Dark

Der blinde Jager, (German edition) Scherz, 1982,

External links

• Archived Review: Estelle Thompson - Hunter in the Dark

Notes and References

1. Web site: Thompson, Estelle. Trove People, National Library of Australia. 17 January 2018.
2. Web site: Blurb on "The Substitute". Hale books. 1991. 17 January 2018.
3. Web site: [Miles Franklin Literary Award 1963 : entries submitted].]. Trove, National Library of Australia. 17 January 2018.
4. Web site: [Miles Franklin Literary Award 1965 : entries submitted].]. Trove, National Library of Australia. 17 January 2018.
5. Web site: [Miles Franklin Literary Award 1968 : entries submitted].]. Trove, National Library of Australia. 17 January 2018.
6. Web site: Find a Crooked Sixpence. Trove Newspapers, National Library of Australia. The Australian Women's Weekly. 17 January 2018.
7. Web site: THOMPSON, Estelle May. The Ryerson Index. 17 January 2018.