The Impersonators

1980 novel by Australian author Jessica Anderson

The Impersonators

First edition

Author| Jessica Anderson
Cover artist| 'Dreaming in the Street' by Charles Blackman, 1960
Language| English
Genre| Novel
Publisher| Macmillan, Australia

Publication date

| 1980
Publication place| Australia
Media type| Paperback
Pages| 252pp
ISBN| 0-333-29925-6
OCLC| 8219612

Dewey Decimal

| 823 19
LC Class| PR9619.3.A57 I5
Preceded by| Tirra Lirra by the River
Followed by| Taking Shelter

The Impersonators (1980) is a Miles Franklin Award-winning novel[1] by Australian author Jessica Anderson. It was published in the United States under the alternative title The Only Daughter.

The novel won both the Miles Franklin Award in 1980, and the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in 1981.

## Plot outline

[edit]

The novel details Sylvia Foley's return to Australia after having lived in England for twenty years. Having come to the conclusion that worldly possessions and marriage are the main stumbling blocks to achieving freedom, Sylvia returns to find each of her Australian relatives bound by both constraints, making them "impersonators."

## Critical reception

[edit]

Hope Hewitt, in The Canberra Times, found a lot to like about the novel but ultimately stated: "I cannot rate this book quite as high as its predecessor: it is hard to get into; the problem of family relationships bedevils personal ones. Its finish is less easy to rest with. But then it is working on a much more ambitious scale, exploring a vast theme within a complex and splendidly-realised group of Australian figures."[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Novelist Wins Second Award", The Canberra Times, 4 June 1981, p3
2. ^ "Just Short of the Mark", The Canberra Times, 13 December 1980, p17

## See also

[edit]

* 1980 in Australian literature
* Middlemiss.org

* v
* t
* e

Miles Franklin Award

1957–1959|

* Voss by Patrick White (1957)
* To the Islands by Randolph Stow (1958)
* The Big Fellow by Vance Palmer (1959)

1960–1969|

* The Irishman by Elizabeth O'Conner (1960)
* Riders in the Chariot by Patrick White (1961)
* The Well Dressed Explorer by Thea Astley (1962)
* The Cupboard Under the Stairs by George Turner (1962)
* Careful, He Might Hear You by Sumner Locke Elliott (1963)
* My Brother Jack by George Johnston (1964)
* The Slow Natives by Thea Astley (1965)
* Trap by Peter Mathers (1966)
* Bring Larks and Heroes by Thomas Keneally (1967)
* Three Cheers for the Paraclete by Thomas Keneally (1968)
* Clean Straw for Nothing by George Johnston (1969)

1970–1979|

* A Horse of Air by Dal Stivens (1970)
* The Unknown Industrial Prisoner by David Ireland (1971)
* The Acolyte by Thea Astley (1972)
* No award (1973)
* The Mango Tree by Ronald McKie (1974)
* Poor Fellow My Country by Xavier Herbert (1976)
* The Glass Canoe by David Ireland (1977)
* Swords and Crowns and Rings by Ruth Park (1978)
* A Woman of the Future by David Ireland (1979)

1980–1989|

* The Impersonators by Jessica Anderson (1980)
* Bliss by Peter Carey (1981)
* Just Relations by Rodney Hall (1982)
* No award (1983)
* Shallows by Tim Winton (1984)
* The Doubleman by Christopher Koch (1985)
* The Well by Elizabeth Jolley (1986)
* Dancing on Coral by Glenda Adams (1987)
* No award (1988)
* Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey (1989)

1990–1999|

* Oceana Fine by Tom Flood (1990)
* The Great World by David Malouf (1991)
* Cloudstreet by Tim Winton (1992)
* The Ancestor Game by Alex Miller (1993)
* The Grisly Wife by Rodney Hall (1994)
* The Hand That Signed the Paper by Helen Darville (1995)
* Highways to a War by Christopher Koch (1996)
* The Glade Within the Grove by David Foster (1997)
* Jack Maggs by Peter Carey (1998)
* Eucalyptus by Murray Bail (1999)

2000–2009|

* Drylands by Thea Astley (2000)
* Benang by Kim Scott (2000)
* Dark Palace by Frank Moorhouse (2001)
* Dirt Music by Tim Winton (2002)
* Journey to the Stone Country by Alex Miller (2003)
* The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard (2004)
* The White Earth by Andrew McGahan (2005)
* The Ballad of Desmond Kale by Roger McDonald (2006)
* Carpentaria by Alexis Wright (2007)
* The Time We Have Taken by Steven Carroll (2008)
* Breath by Tim Winton (2009)

2010–2019|

* Truth by Peter Temple (2010)
* That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott (2011)
* All That I Am by Anna Funder (2012)
* Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser (2013)
* All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld (2014)
* The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna (2015)
* Black Rock White City by A. S. Patrić (2016)
* Extinctions by Josephine Wilson (2017)
* The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser (2018)
* Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko (2019)

2020–present|

* The Yield by Tara June Winch (2020)
* The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey (2021)
* Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down (2022)
* Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran (2023)
* Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright (2024)

* v
* t
* e

New South Wales Premier's Prize for Fiction

1979-1989|

* An Imaginary Life by David Malouf (1979)
* War Crimes by Peter Carey (1980)
* The Impersonators by Jessica Anderson (1981)
* Bliss by Peter Carey (1982)
* The Cure by Peter Kocan (1983)
* Milk by Beverley Farmer (1984)
* Milk and Honey by Elizabeth Jolley (1985)
* Postcards from Surfers by Helen Garner (1986)
* Dancing on Coral by Glenda Adams (1987)
* Final Things by John Sligo (1988)
* Broken Words by Helen Hodgman (1989)

1990-1999|

* Reaching Tin River by Thea Astley (1990)
* JF Was Here by Nigel Krauth (1991)
* The Death of Napoleon by Simon Leys (1992)
* Remembering Babylon by David Malouf (1993)
* Seasonal Adjustments by Adib Khan (1994)
* Just Like That by Lily Brett (1995)
* Leaning Towards Infinity by Sue Woolfe (1996)
* The Drowner by Robert Drewe (1997)
* No award (1998)
* Mr. Darwin's Shooter by Roger McDonald (1999)

2000-2009|

* The Salt of Broken Tears by Michael Meehan (2000)
* Conditions of Faith by Alex Miller (2001)
* Dirt Music by Tim Winton (2002)
* Moral Hazard by Kate Jennings (2003)
* Shanghai Dancing by Brian Castro (2004)
* The Turning by Tim Winton (2005)
* The Secret River by Kate Grenville (2006)
* Theft: A Love Story by Peter Carey (2007)
* The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser (2008)
* The Good Parents by Joan London (2009)

2010-2019|

* Summertime by J. M. Coetzee (2010)
* Lovesong by Alex Miller (2011)
* That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott (2012)
* Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany (2013)
* Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser (2014)
* The Snow Kimono by Mark Henshaw (2015)
* Locust Girl: A Lovesong by Merlinda Bobis (2016)
* The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose (2017)
* The Book of Dirt by Bram Presser (2018)
* The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser (2019)

2020–present|

* The Yield by Tara June Winch (2020)
* A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville (2021)
* Dark as Last Night by Tony Birch (2022)
* Women I Know by Katerina Gibson (2023)
* The Sitter by Angela O'Keeffe (2024)
* Highway 13 by Fiona McFarlane (2025)

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