Love, addiction and death: real-life ingredients for new novel

Creative Writing

If author Rachel Hennessy had written a novel about coincidence and fate, it's unlikely she would have been able to contrive the kinds of events that have unfolded in her real life.

Within the space of a few short years, the Creative Writing student at the University of Adelaide has become an award-winning, first-time published novelist.

Her first novel, The Quakers, was written as part of her Masters in Creative Writing studies and went on to win the $10,000 unpublished manuscript award at the 2006 Adelaide Festival of Arts. Her book, now published by Wakefield Press, was launched during this year's Writers' Week.

The Quakers draws its inspiration from Rachel's real-life high school encounter with a girl called Anu Singh. Rachel sat next to Anu in her religious education class at school; she was friendly with Anu, and was even at her house during the Newcastle earthquake in 1989.

Anu predicted she would have a fairytale relationship with her first love and live happily ever after. Years later, Anu would go on to be convicted of the manslaughter of her boyfriend - Canberra engineer Joe Cinque - by injecting him with an overdose of heroin.

The Quakers stems from Rachel's questions: who was this girl, and how might she have ended up where she did?

The fictionalised account focuses on the character of Lucy. On the night of her 28th birthday and the day of her friend's funeral, Lucy tries to make sense of the deaths that have defined her life. She goes back to the day of an earthquake when she became friends with a group of outsiders who named themselves The Quakers. At the centre of this group is the beautiful Narinda, whose energy draws both men and women towards her.

The Quakers is described as "a compelling love story where friendship becomes obsession and addictions lead to murder".

Written entirely separate to - and, at the time, with no knowledge of - author Helen Garner's own book about the Anu Singh story, Joe Cinque's Consolation, Rachel's first novel has received widespread praise and has been shortlisted for a number of major writing prizes.

Rachel, who is now studying for her PhD in Creative Writing, said she had had an "amazing editorial experience" with The Quakers, both during her Masters studies and with her publisher.

"It's been a good learning process having written the novel through the Creative Writing program at the University of Adelaide," she said.

"The sense of support that you get in the program is excellent, and I've made a lot of friends out of it.

"I had never really involved myself in any kind of writing community before I started my studies. In the program, you really get a sense of community with the other writers."

Rachel is currently writing her second novel as part of her PhD studies. She is also one of the writers whose work is featured in this month's performances by the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild.

Story by David Ellis