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Kerry Isabelle Greenwood

ケリー・イザベル・グリーンウッド

Kerry Isabelle Greenwood

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1954-06-17 (Footscray, Victoria, Australia)
Died
2025-03-26 age 70
Nationality
Australian
Languages
English
Residence History
Footscray, Melbourne → Inner West, Melbourne

Career

Occupations
Writer, Locum solicitor
Active Years
1989-2025
Affiliations
Victoria Legal Aid, Supreme Court of Victoria
Influenced By
Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers
Nominations
Ned Kelly Award (Best Novel) shortlisted (Heavenly Pleasures, 2005), Ned Kelly Award (Best Novel) shortlisted (Queen of the Flowers, 2005), Ned Kelly Award (Best Novel) nominated (Trick or Treat, 2008), Davitt Award nomination (The Wandering Icon, 2003), Davitt Award nomination (Murder in Montparnasse, 2003)

Education

University of Melbourne
Faculty of Arts / English
Degree: Bachelor of Arts (English)
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: Australia
Worked at a women's refuge while at university.
University of Melbourne
Law School / Law
Degree: Bachelor of Laws (LL.B)
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: Australia
Admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1982.

Awards

Aurealis Award
1996
Work: The Broken Wheel
Category: Young Adult Division, Best Novel
Organization: Aurealis Awards
Result: 共同受賞
Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year (CBCA)
2002
Work: A Different Sort of Real: The Diary of Charlotte McKenzie, Melbourne 1918–1919
Category: Book of the Year: Younger Readers (honour book)
Organization: Children's Book Council of Australia
Result: 選出(honour book)
Davitt Award
2002
Work: The Three-Pronged Dagger
Category: Best Young Fiction Book
Organization: Sisters in Crime Australia (Davitt Awards)
Result: 受賞
Davitt Award
2003
Work: The Wandering Icon
Category: Best Young Fiction Book
Organization: Sisters in Crime Australia (Davitt Awards)
Result: ノミネート
Davitt Award
2003
Work: Murder in Montparnasse
Category: Best Adult Novel
Organization: Sisters in Crime Australia (Davitt Awards)
Result: ノミネート
Ned Kelly Award
2003
Category: Lifetime Contribution
Organization: Australian Crime Writers Association
Result: 受賞
Ned Kelly Award
2005
Work: Heavenly Pleasures
Category: Best Novel
Organization: Australian Crime Writers Association
Result: ショートリスト(最終候補)
Ned Kelly Award
2005
Work: Queen of the Flowers
Category: Best Novel
Organization: Australian Crime Writers Association
Result: ショートリスト(最終候補)
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards (Patricia Wrightson Prize)
2006
Work: Journey to Eureka
Category: Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Books (shortlist)
Organization: New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
Result: ショートリスト(最終候補)
Davitt Award
2006
Work: Heavenly Pleasures
Category: Readers' Choice Award
Organization: Sisters in Crime Australia (Davitt Awards)
Result: 共同受賞
Davitt Award
2007
Work: Devil's Food
Category: Readers' Choice Award
Organization: Sisters in Crime Australia (Davitt Awards)
Result: 共同受賞
Ned Kelly Award
2008
Work: Trick or Treat
Category: Best Novel
Organization: Australian Crime Writers Association
Result: ノミネート
Sisters in Crime Lifetime Achievement Award (Australia)
2013
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Organization: Sisters in Crime Australia
Result: 受賞
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
2020
Organization: Australian Government (Australia Day Honours)
Result: 受章

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Cocaine Blues

1989 Historical mystery, crime

Set in 1920s Melbourne, this is the first Phryne Fisher mystery featuring the bold, independent detective Phryne Fisher. The novel blends social and gender issues with classic detective plotting.

CrimeFemale independence1920s society
Adaptations
  • [Television series (adaptation)] Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012)

Flying Too High

1990 Historical mystery, crime

The second Phryne Fisher novel, combining Australian historical background with contemporary perspectives in its mystery.

Detective fictionSocial contextFemale characterization

The Broken Wheel

1996 Young adult, speculative fiction

A young adult novel and joint winner of the Aurealis Award (Young Adult division), dealing with socially conscious themes.

Young adultSocial issues

The Three-Pronged Dagger

2002 Young adult, mystery

A young adult mystery that won the 2002 Davitt Award (Best Young Fiction Book), focusing on character growth alongside the mystery's resolution.

Coming-of-ageDetective elementsYouth perspective

A Different Sort of Real: The Diary of Charlotte McKenzie, Melbourne 1918-1919

2001 Children's, historical fiction

A diary-format book set in post-WWI Melbourne; selected as an honour book by the CBCA for younger readers.

HistoryPost-war societyChildren's literature

Murder in Williamstown

2022 Historical mystery, crime

A more recent Phryne Fisher novel combining Greenwood's hallmark historical detail and lively detective work.

HistoryMysteryFemale detective

Bibliography

  • Cocaine Blues (1989)
  • Flying Too High (1990)
  • Murder on the Ballarat Train (1991)
  • The Broken Wheel (1996)
  • The Three-Pronged Dagger (2002)
  • A Different Sort of Real (2001)
  • Heavenly Pleasures (2005)
  • Death in Daylesford (2020)
  • Murder in Williamstown (2022)

Adaptations

  • Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (television series, premiered 2012)
  • Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (film, 2022)
  • Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries (TV spin-off, 2019)
  • Miss S (HBO Asia remake, 2020)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Witty, lively narrationPlotting influenced by Golden Age detective fictionDetailed depiction of historical settings
Recurring Motifs
Independent female detective figure (Phryne Fisher)Urban society and culture of the 1920sTension between law and justiceDomestic and culinary elements woven into plots

Legacy

Kerry Greenwood was an Australian author best known for the Phryne Fisher series set in the 1920s, which achieved international recognition through television and film adaptations. She wrote across genres—from children's and young adult fiction to historical mysteries—and received awards including the Ned Kelly Award, Davitt Awards and the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2020.

Archives

  • National Library of Australia (related holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • Through 'Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries' (TV series), its film and spin-offs, 1920s fashion, music and the female detective archetype were popularized and re-evaluated.

Quotes

  • I began writing books at sixteen, but remained unpublished for many years.
    Source: Interview, The Sydney Morning Herald (2008) (2008)

Trivia

  • The Phryne Fisher series was adapted into a television series that gained international popularity.
  • She was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2020.
  • Worked at a women's refuge while at university.
  • Maintained legal practice as a locum solicitor for Victoria Legal Aid while pursuing a professional writing career.
  • Her partner is mathematician and writer David Greagg, sometimes described as a 'wizard' by associates.