Johnston, Dorothy 1948–

PERSONAL: Born 1948, in Geelong, Victoria, Australia; children: one son, one daughter. Education: Attended University of Melbourne.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Jenny Darling, Jenny Darling and Associates, P.O. Box 413, Toorak, Victoria 3142, Australia. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and educator. Taught English; former researcher in education.

AWARDS, HONORS: Australian Capital Territory Book of the Year joint winner, 2001, for The Trojan Dog.

WRITINGS:

FICTION

Tunnel Vision, Hale & Iremonger (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1984.

Ruth, Hale & Iremonger (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1986.

Maralinga, My Love (novel), McPhee Gribble/Penguin (Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia), 1988.

One for the Master, Wakefield Press (Kent Town, South Australia, Australia), 1997.

The Trojan Dog, Wakefield Press (Kent Town, South Australia, Australia), 2000 Dunne/St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2005.

The White Tower (sequel to The Trojan Dog), Wakefield Press (Kent Town, South Australia, Australia), 2003.

The House at Number 10, Wakefield Press (Kent Town, South Australia, Australia), 2005.

Short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including Canberra Tales, Penguin, 1988; Amnesty, William Heinemann Australia, 1993; Mother Love, Random House Australia, 1996; and Below the Waterline, HarperCollins, 1999.

OTHER

Essays have appeared in Australian Book Review, Australian Humanities Review, HEAT 13 (Series 1), and HEAT 1 (Series 2).

SIDELIGHTS: Dorothy Johnston is recognized for her literary fiction and is also a crime novelist. As noted on the AustLit Web site, the author "often makes explicit links between the realms of the public and the private." For example, in One for the Master, Johnston writes about the woolen mill that existed in her hometown of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Covering nearly five decades beginning in 1950, the story focuses on Helen Sullivan. As noted by Ivor Indyk in the Sydney Morning Herald and reprinted on Johnston's home page, Sullivan's "own life has been determined by her relation to the mill." Written in the first person through Sullivan's eyes, the reader is given her social and political perspectives involving both the personal, such as weddings and funerals, and the public happenings, such as political strikes and floods. Indyk called the book "a quiet novel, courageous in its modesty, and in its own loyalty to the past."

The author long thought of writing a crime novel before producing her first in the genre in 2000. The Trojan Dog tells the story of Sandra Mahoney, who has returned to the work force after being a stay-at-home mom. Her job in the Australian Labor Relations Service Department Industries Branch ends up casting Sandra in the middle of intrigue when her boss is suspected of embezzling money via computer fraud. Mahoney tries to stay loyal to her boss and prove her innocence even though her coworkers have treated her badly and fully expect her to wind up taking the fall for a crime she did not commit. Writing in MBR Bookwatch, Harriet Klausner noted that the book "is a terrific Australian amateur sleuth starring a delightful protagonist, a fabulous support cast who makes the office seem real, and a fantastic look at Canberra." A Publishers Weekly contributor commented that "Johnston's literary, character-driven crime debut explores white-collar corruption as well as a modern woman's personal transformation." A Kirkus Reviews contributor noted that the character of Mahoney "narrates her tale with cool precision" and noted that the author "has created a tense but droll psychological thriller about office dynamics."

Johnston followed up her crime debut with a sequel titled The White Tower, which is about a young man who is devoted to an interactive computer game. Mahoney investigates what appears to be his suicide, scripted to look like a chilling execution in the game.

Johnston told CA: "One of the most delightful things about being a writer is realizing the power of the written word to travel across continents, and across time as well. In the 1980s I wrote a novel about the British atomic bomb tests at Maralinga in South Australia, and I'm still receiving letters from members of the Nuclear Veterans' Association. Recently, I had the experience of walking into a New York bookstore and seeing The Trojan Dog on the counter, and discovering how much the bookshop owner had enjoyed it. As for writing crime—it is the most fun anyone can have this side of legal.

"I am a morning person and write best after I've just woken up. When I taught full-time I used to get up at five in the morning so I could write before I went to work. These days, luckily, I don't have to do that."

"One of the most important influences on my writing is the Australian-born novelist Christina Stead, and meeting her in Melbourne in the 1970s was a great inspiration for me. My favourite book is the one that I'm about to write. The joys and pitfalls are all still ahead of me."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2005, review of The Trojan Dog, p. 86.

MBR Bookwatch, March, 2005, Harriet Klausner, review of The Trojan Dog.

Publishers Weekly, February 28, 2005, review of The Trojan Dog, p.46.

ONLINE

AllReaders.com, http://www.allreaders.com/ (March, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of The Trojan Dog.

AustLit, http://www.austlit.edu.au/ (July 1, 2005), biography of author.

Dorothy Johnston Home Page, http://members.iinet.net.au/∼dorothy1 (July 5, 2005), Sydney Morning Herald, Ivor Indyk, review of One for the Master.