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Elizabeth Harrower
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The Long Prospect: Text Classics Kindle Edition

by Elizabeth Harrower (Author), Fiona McGregor (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition
3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
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Sharply observed, bitter and humorous, The Long Prospect is a story of life in an Australian industrial town.


Growing up neglected in a seedy boarding house, twelve-year-old Emily Lawrence befriends Max, a middle-aged scientist who encourages her to pursue her intellectual interests. Innocent Emily will face scandal, suburban snobbery and psychological torment.


Originally published in 1958, The Long Prospect was described as ranking second only to Patrick White's Voss in postwar Australian literature. This edition has an introduction by Fiona McGregor.


Elizabeth Harrower was born in Sydney in 1928 and moved to London in 1951. She travelled extensively and began to write fiction. Her first novel Down in the City was published in 1957, and was followed by The Long Prospect a year later. In 1959 she returned to Sydney where she began working for the ABC and as a book reviewer for the Sydney Morning Herald. In 1960 she published The Catherine Wheel, the story of an Australian law student in London, her only novel not set in Sydney.


The Watch Tower appeared in 1966. No further novels were published until May 2014 when Harrower's 'lost' novel, In Certain Circles, was released. Her work is austere, intelligent, ruthless in its perceptions about men and women. She was admired by many of her contemporaries, including Patrick White and Christina Stead, and is without doubt among the most important writers of the postwar period in Australia.


Elizabeth Harrower died in Sydney on 7 July 2020 at the age of ninety-two.


Fiona McGregor is the author of five books, her most recent novel Indelible Ink winning the Age Book of the Year award. She writes essays and reviews, and is working on another novel. She is internationally known as a performance artist, completing the epic Water Series at Artspace, Sydney, in 2011. fionamcgregor.com

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  1. Print length
    251 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Text Publishing
  5. Publication date
    October 24, 2012
  6. File size
    2393 KB
  7. Page Flip
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  8. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elizabeth Harrower was born in Sydney in 1928 but her family soon relocated to Newcastle where she lived until she was eleven. In 1951 Harrower moved to London. She travelled extensively and she began to write fiction. Her first novel Down in the City was published in 1957, and was followed by The Long Prospect a year later. In 1959 she returned to Sydney where she began working for the ABC and as a book reviewer for the Sydney Morning Herald. In 1960 she published The Catherine Wheel, the story of an Australian law student in London, her only novel not set in Sydney. The Watch Tower appeared in 1966. Between 1961 and 1967 she worked in publishing, for Macmillan. No further novels were published though Harrower continued to write short fiction. She is admired by many of her contemporaries, including Patrick White and Christina Stead, and is without doubt among the most important writers of the postwar period in Australia. Elizabeth Harrower lives in Sydney.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008Y5C86M
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Text Publishing; Reprint edition (October 24, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 24, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2393 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 251 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

About the author

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Elizabeth Harrower

Elizabeth Harrower

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Elizabeth Harrower was born in Sydney in 1928. She lived in Newcastle until her family moved back to Sydney when she was eleven.

In 1951 Harrower traveled to London and began to write. Her first novel, "Down in the City," was published there in 1957 and was followed by "The Long Prospect" a year later. In 1959 she returned to Sydney, where she worked in radio and then in publishing. Her third novel, "The Catherine Wheel," appeared in 1960.

Harrower published "The Watch Tower" in 1966. Four years later she finished a new novel, "In Certain Circles," but withdrew it from publication at the last moment, in 1971. It remained unpublished until 2014. "In Certain Circles" is Harrower's final completed novel, though in the 1970s and 1980s she continued to write short fiction. She is one of Australia's most important postwar writers. She was admired by many of her contemporaries, including Patrick White and Christina Stead, who both became lifelong friends. Her novels are now being acclaimed by a new generation of readers.

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
3.6 out of 5
19 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Sylvia
4.0 out of 5 stars The internal conflicts and power struggles between female generations.
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2013
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this book probably because I am a mature woman and could therefore relate to, and maybe understand, what was happening at this time and in this household. Though the description of post war life in a small industrial Australian town is probably accurate, this novel has far more to interest.

I felt the author's main concern is with the relationship between an intelligent pubescent girl, Emily, and her grandmother, and how it affects her maturing mind. Emily's mother is ineffectual and lives away in Sydney. Her father, who has little interest in her, lives in the outback. The only reason Emily's parents have separated seems to be because of lack of interest, both in each other and Emily.

Emily lives with her grandmother, whose main interests are horse racing and her relationships with her boarders. Emily suffers from a lack of love. There is nobody in her small circle to take a real and enduring interest in her. Her mother sees her occasionally but never engages. Her grandmother makes thoughtless remarks about most people, and especially about Emily, but is popular with her friends so leads a lively social life which excludes her grand daughter.

Poor Emily drifts around the house and neighborhood, watching and waiting, without a place to call her own. When Max arrives as a boarder, Emily finds him sympathetic and interested in her. He encourages an education for her. However, because Emily is, typically for her age, self absorbed, she does not suspect the reason for Max's interest in her is different from her own in him. Because Emily's fixation on the much older Max is out of proportion with his interest, she is devastated when it appears he does not reciprocate in a way that she would prefer. And yet, Emily herself is fickle. How can she not be after being brought up in the household described here? Could Emily be more like her grandmother than we suspect?

I would recommend this book for those who find internal conflict, and its long term effect, as absorbing as physical action.
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M. Sheldon
5.0 out of 5 stars Intense and poetic
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2014
Verified Purchase
Elizabeth Harrower is such an extraordinary writer. Timeless and quite brutal. Anyone seriously interested in good literature, should not go past her. I'm unsure why she isn't more lauded as a writer.
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Ariel Marguin
4.0 out of 5 stars mazing portrayals of Oz in the forties/fifties
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2013
Verified Purchase
all her books re amazing portrayals of Oz in the forties/fifties or thereabouts - and getting into people's minds especially kids. In some ways they are bleak books but rewarding somehow cos of many insights and desciptions setting scenes which might have otherwise been forgot. sorry I have no analytical skills but I know wot i like,...
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Richard Sippe
4.0 out of 5 stars Innocence/Wisdom 1950's Australia
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2007
Finely written , very subtle psychological analysis of growing up in an Australian provincial city in the 1950's ; captures period atmosphere well but remains undated .
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Australia on February 4, 2016
Verified Purchase
Exceptional book by one of the great Australian writers. Elizabeth Harrower should be compulsory reading for all.
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