THE RED SHOE

Funny, tough-minded and tender, this is the story of Matilda and her two sisters growing up in Sydney, Australia, in the early 1950s.

Their father is mentally unstable and largely absent, their mother is possibly in the thrall of his brother, and a headline-making Russian spy defection is taking place next door. Punctuated by the headlines of the times, The Red Shoe depicts how the large events of the world can impinge on ordinary lives. This is a novel to savor by one of Australia's most gifted writers for young people. Ursula Dubosarsky is widely regarded as one of the most talented and original writers in Australia today. She is the author of many outstanding books, both for young adults and for children, and has won numerous awards for excellence. Abyssinia was winner of the 2004 South Australian Festival Award for Literature and was also shortlisted for NSW Premier's Literary Awards and the Queensland Premier's Literary Award. In 2006 Theodora's Gift won both the NSW and Victorian Premier's Awards. Ursula has a PhD in English literature from Macquarie University and lives in Sydney with her family.