Intriguing tales not hard to find

The author of ‘The Dressmaker’ talks small towns, writing and a visit to Redcliffe with Kylie Knight.

THE people in a small country town can sometimes appear larger than life and for Rosalie Ham they are the perfect characters for a bestseller.

The author of The Dressmaker grew up in Jerilderie, New South Wales, where her family still farms, and says her new novel The Year of the Farmer was a story she felt compelled to write. Rosalie was born in a community which relied on irrigation and is now in the grip of drought. The Year of the Farmer tells the tale of a small town where a war is brewing over water and the townspeople are battling the elements and each other. “I needed to get it out of my system,” Rosalie says.

The central character is a charming and approachable farmer.

Author Rosalie Ham, who wrote The Dressmaker, is speaking at the Redcliffe Library.

“He’s stuck in a situation and there’s nothing he can do about it. He’s at the mercy of the elements and banks,” she says.

Fans of The Dressmaker can expect similar themes — big characters, drama, love and hate, but not so much revenge. “There’s no frocks, but a certain justice,” Rosalie says.

She will be speaking about her new novel and the writing process when she comes to Redcliffe Library on October 11. And she’s sure The Dressmaker, which was turned into an award-winning film starring Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Judy Davis and Hugo Weaving, will come up in conversation.

The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham.

“It (The Dressmaker) resonates with women of my age because they know the characters, they’ve met someone like that. For school kids, it’s the romance and drama,” Rosalie says

“And it’s a bit of a ripping yarn … there’s drama, intrigue, love, hate, death and fashion.”

The 2015 film was made by a girl she went to school with — producer Sue Maslin. It was directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse.

“I knew she (Sue) would do a good job so I gave it to her with absolute confidence,” Rosalie says. “When they secured Kate Winslet, I thought it could travel beyond Australia.” Incredibly, the novel was Rosalie’s first book and was written as part of a writing course she took in the late 1990s.

“I realised now I can write and that’s what I was programmed to do,” she says.

The Year of the Farmer is Rosalie’s fourth novel and will be released on September 25 by Pan MacMillan Australia.