An Hour with Jill Dawson
Jill Dawson’s novel The Great Lover (2009) is set in the period leading up to poet Rupert Brooke’s nervous breakdown.
She creates a rich, sensual portrait of Brooke and his pre-war life in Cambridge and later in Tahiti, and bases the story on detailed research, as is also evident in Jill’s previous novels Magpie (1998), Fred & Edie (2000), Wild Boy (2003) and Watch Me Disappear (2006). Brooke’s inner turmoil is contrasted with his celebrated public image: known as "the most handsome man in England" (W.B. Yeats), he was worshipped throughout his short life (by men and women), and glorified as a patriotic English hero after his death in the First World War. Balancing out the story is the wonderful fictional character of Nell, a teenage maid in Brooke’s Cambridgeshire lodgings, whose grounded nature contrasts with his utter self-absorption.
The Great Lover seamlessly intertwines fact and fiction, and Jill talks about her methodology with chair Carole Beu.
Presented as a part of the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival.
Aotea Centre, 50 Mayoral Drive, Auckland CBD
Member Profile
Auckland Writers and Readers FestivalSet up in 1999 by a group including writers Peter Wells and Stephanie Johnson, the Festival is now run by the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival Charitable Trust with a core staff of four led by General Manager Anne Rodda and Artistic Director Anne O’Brien. It is New Zealand’s largest literary festival, annually celebrating reading, writing and big ideas through the presentation of more than 100 international writers and thinkers to over 30,000 strong audience. The 2012 Festival will take place 9-13 May.
