The Books

Volume one

The Short Stories of Ron Iddon – The Murray River Collection

“The Murray River Collection” is so called because all the stories are written about people who live on or near that long and grand waterway in the south east of Australia.

An observant eye and an understanding heart, plus a gift for words: in Ron Iddon we have a writer whose books deserve to sit on the same shelf as those earlier and loved Australian writers Henry Lawson and Alan Marshall.

Successful stories give you the feeling that they actually happened, or, to paraphrase Mark Twain, that they should have. This author seems to know the events and characters in these stories so well that it is as if they have emerged not so much from his imagination as from his own life.

“These are among the best Australian short stories I have read. His characters are authentic people, authentically Australian, and the right amount of tension is present in every story. He gets it so right.”Stephen Harris, Tamworth

“What a wonderful collection of stories. I found myself being drawn into each tale, reading with close attention and enjoyment, then at the end of each saying “Ah yes!” and savouring the after taste like a fine wine.”Charles Stephens, Tumut

Volume two

The Short Stories of Ron Iddon – The Queensland Collection

In “The Queensland Collection” the writer’s gifts, a grasp of story, an observant eye and an empathetic heart, are once again on full display.

Characters move effortlessly from his imagination onto the page: the four elderly sisters in “The Begums of Nambour”, who weave a seemingly magical spell over their young visitors from the city; the muscular cross-dresser in “My Western Women”, who single-handedly resolves a dangerous predicament at a friend’s hotel; the Silky Oak kitchen dresser who endures Dickensian ups and downs throughout “A Colourful Life”. (Iddon tells this story as the piece of furniture, and carries off the impersonation with virtuosity.)

“I couldn’t put it down. He brings each character to life with a realism seldom seen in Australian short stories.”Chris Barrett, Queensland Country Life

Volume three

The Redspear Team

Once again Ron Iddon has given us sharply drawn characters, placing them this time in an inland Australian town, and wrapping around them stories that engage us to the end.

Here is Georgia, born to an Aboriginal woman, and the best stockman in the district; Errol, who manages a motel and his enterprising love life with equal dexterity; the visiting Duchess, welcome member of the Royal Family; Bobbo, the boy-man with unexplained powers; Maggie, ex-jockey with a long-held love secret; and Mary, very old but still the economic dynamo of Redspear. Even some of the town’s crows have roles.

Volume four

The Short Stories of Ron Iddon – The Fourth Collection

Mysteries from the past resurface here. A woman vanishes from a Cape York cattle station during World War Two (“The Disappearance of Christine Holmes”), and a struggling trainer wins a town’s premier race with a horse everyone considers only third-rate (“Mum’s Secret Revealed”). Court transcripts reveal how a lawyer defends a young man accused of murder (“The Trial of Peter Halvorsen”).

Most of the stories are contemporary, and women are prominent. Annabelle, a wealthy social lioness, receives a lesson in humility from her niece (“Queen of the Ball”); Patricia, admired as a community leader, first had to endure a lonely and deprived childhood (“The Mayor”); and Isobel uses all her wits to defend her job at a State Art Gallery against her enemies (“Taking a Position”).