The Love of a Bad Man
2016 Australian short story collection
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Love of a Bad Man is a collection of short stories by Australian writer Laura Elizabeth Woollett.[1] It contains 12 stories, each revolving around a historical woman or group of women intimately involved with a criminal.
| |
| Author | Laura Elizabeth Woollett |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction, Crime fiction |
| Publisher | Scribe |
Publication date | 2016 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| ISBN | 1925307786 |
| OCLC | 953367981 |
Reception
Cameron Woodhead of The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that the collection "often speaks from inside the criminal mind, and Woollett's pitch-perfect command of narrative voice, period, and psychology creates 12 tales to fascinate and unnerve."[2] Sarah Chandler of Fairfax New Zealand opined: "While skilfully written and quite richly imagined, The Love of a Bad Man is essentially some kind of history-porn."[3] Sam Cooney of The Weekend Australian was more critical, writing that there is a "lack of depth and intensity" and a "lack of complexity" to the stories, and that the appendix, which gives a brief factual overview of the lives of each of the women, is "often the most affecting part of their stories."[4]
Awards
- 2017 Ned Kelly Awards — Best First Novel, shortlisted[5]
- 2017 Davitt Award — Best Adult Crime Novel, longlisted[6]
- 2017 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — Prize for Fiction, shortlisted[7]