GLASS HOUSES

Glass Houses is a gentle satire with a rapier edge, perfectly capturing the socially mobile mid-nineties milieu of city folk with country houses.

Raymond causes a stir in country town Glaston when he buys Glastonbridge, a house of vast, neo-Gothic fantasy abandoned for decades. It's an ambitious project, and all previous renovators have come to grief. Out of the woodwork real estate agents, a jealous sister, the heritage council, prospective tourism operators and journalists, proffering opinions, make his life a misery.

As the restoration goes on, Raymond becomes increasingly isolated, unable to trust anyone, alienating his friends and giving courage to his enemies. He believes that unseen forces are trying to remove him from his grand project.

At turns pitied, admired, humoured and loved, Raymond undoubtedly has the knowledge, vision and fortune to make Glastonbridge thrive again, but will he be able to see it through?

Anne Coombs's final novel is about finding your place of refuge – against all odds.

Anne Coombs (1956-2021) was a journalist, author, political activist, and philanthropist. She authored five books, including No Man's Land, Sex and Anarchy: The Life and Death of the Sydney Push and Broometime, co-authored with Susan Varga. In recent years Anne was a frequent essayist and commentator, and a regular contributor to the Griffith Review. She also wrote a feature film script set in Australia's far north, currently being developed for production. Anne died at her Exeter home in December 2021.