At Parramatta (Penguin Australian Library)

Plot

The Sydney suburb of Paramatta in the 1850s was a perfect microcosm of the mores and pretensions of middle-class Australia. As freshly revealing today as when it was first written, Ethel Anderson's At Paramatta takes this provincial society as the setting for an unusual look at the Seven Deadly Sins.Her shrewd but affectionate observation highlights human frailty in a parade of colourful characters; from Juliet McCree with her copper hair and captivating arguments to the eligible Dr Phantom; from the mischievous widow Peronel to Dr Boisragon, the self-appointed upholder of morals. Perhaps the precursor to the 'discontinous narrative', Anderson's lively vignettes link together to form a sparkling, perceptive and memorable novel that cunningly exposes the vanity in us all.