Fiona McFarlane is known for her gripping narratives of psychological complexity and haunted Australian spaces.
Her debut novel, The Night Guest (2013), was set in a small coastal town where Ruth, a retired widow with dementia, begins to sense a tiger in her home, as Frida, a supposed government caregiver, gradually takes over Ruth’s life.
McFarlane’s next novel, The Sun Walks Down (2022), revisited the archetypal Australian story of a child lost in the wilderness. Set in 1883, its tale of colonial unease highlighted violence toward Aboriginal people and the exploitation of their labour. Notably, the race politics of its rural setting were discussed on a book club podcast hosted by former prime minister Julia Gillard.
