This week's episode focused on Joan London's novel, 'The Golden Age', and Clare is joined by Pauline Canty and Angela Pane, who have both taught the text for many years. The conversation begins by exploring the roles of the three mothers in the text: Ida, Margaret and Sister Penny, and the importance they hold in representing the different concepts of womanhood in 1950s Australia. Frank's innate selfishness is also explored, as well as the role and function of Sullivan. The conversation extends to a discussion of the depth of suffering experienced by the children at The Golden Age, specifically Elsa's experiences in the dead of night, facing the real and present spectre of Death.  Finally, the significance of Sister Olive Penny is explored, and the hope and optimism that she ends the novel with, despite the challenges she faces in the narrative. Ultimately, the novel is about striving through adversity, and it is a novel of hope rather than a love story, which is an important message for students to understand if intending to write analytical responses to the novel. Key passages are read and discussed throughout, so this is an episode to have your novel close at hand.

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