Jessica White’s debut novel, A Curious Intimacy, is set in the colonial world of the South West of WA in the 1870’s. Roving botanist Ingrid Markham stumbles across the isolated cottage garden of drover’s wife Ellyn Ives whilst cataloguing the indigenous flora of WA. Shattered by the death of her child, the delicate Mrs Ives prefers the English plants of her garden to the untamed bush around her farm. Under Ingrid’s careful guidance, Ellyn slowly begins to appreciate the strange flora around her. The unexpected return of Ellyn’s husband means the budding relationship between the women becomes fraught with danger.
Botany seems to be a bit of an It-theme for literary novelists, and while the sometimes overstretched metaphors mean A Curious Intimacy isn’t perhaps the most compelling addition to the genre, Jessica White demonstrates her potential to develop into an immensely readable novelist. It’s a refreshing change to read a lesbian novel set in Western Australia.
A Curious Intimacy is published by Penguin Australia.
