The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt

Tracy Farr’s acclaimed debut novel is the fictional memoir of Dame Lena Gaunt: musician, octogenarian, junkie.

From a solitary childhood in Malacca and a Perth boarding school to a glittering career in Jazz-age Sydney and a defining relationship with bohemian artist Beatrix Carmichael, Lena’s is a life shaped by the pull of the sea, the ebb and flow of passion and loss, and that extraordinary instrument, the theremin.

Tracy Farr is an Australian-born, New Zealand-based writer and former research scientist. The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt was longlisted for Australia’s most prestigious literary prize, the Miles Franklin Award.