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Kerry Greenwood
| Fan | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Kerry Greenwood |
| Alias(es): | |
| Type: | |
| Fandoms: | Slash, History, Fantasy, others |
| Communities: | Spaced Out, Aussiecon, Phryne Fisher |
| Other: | |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Kerry Greenwood OAM (17 June 1954 – 26 March 2025)[1] was an Australian writer and lawyer. She was also a fan of science fiction, fantasy, mystery and historical fiction, fanfic and slash.
Kerry Greenwood was born in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray and after wandering far and wide, she returned to live there. She has a degree in English and Law from Melbourne University and was admitted to the legal profession on the 1st April 1982, a day which she finds both soothing and significant...Kerry Greenwood has worked as a folk singer, factory hand, director, producer, translator, costume-maker, cook and is currently a solicitor. When she is not writing, she works as a locum solicitor for the Victorian Legal Aid. She is also the unpaid curator of seven thousand books, three cats (Attila, Belladonna and Ashe) and a computer called Apple (which squeaks). She embroiders very well but cannot knit. She has flown planes and leapt out of them (with a parachute) in an attempt to cure her fear of heights (she is now terrified of jumping out of planes but can climb ladders without fear). She can detect second-hand bookshops from blocks away and is often found within them.[2]
Kerry wrote a series of novels about fictional character Corinna Chapman, and many other novels, including series of books ranging in topics from mythology to mystery. Kerry was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2020.[3]
She became most famous for authoring the Phryne Fisher series of historical detective novels, which became a TV series and later was spun off into a film and two subsequent series. The fictional Phryne lived at 221B The Esplanade, St Kilda (in Melbourne) as an apparent fan tribute to Sherlock Holmes.[3]
In a 2003 interview, Kerry spoke about being a "storyteller" and this included a perspective of being an "outsider":
I got used to being an outsider - a perfectly comfortable outsider - but all writers have a small corner which observes, watches, makes notes, isn't involved, and we cannot abandon ourselves to the moment except in very unusual situations (even when I almost drowned, there was a small observer saying, "Hmmm, so this is drowning!", while the rest of me strove and panicked and flailed).[4]
Fandom
Kerry was married to a wizard (David Greagg)[1] but became a strong ally of the queer SF club, Spaced Out, in its early days. She attended meetings as a speaker and participant, was interviewed for their Diverse Universe newsletter, and attended science fiction conventions as an ally and representative.
In September 1999, she attended Aussiecon 3 and participated in a panel on, "Alternative Sexuality, Alternative Science Fiction" with other members/supporters of Spaced Out. This panel highlighted queer characters in science fiction and fantasy, the ethnic cleansing of queer characters from Hollywood science fiction and - although Kerry admitted personal enthusiasm for the genre - questioned whether slash fiction, as a vehicle for many heterosexual women, was actually inclusive or exploitative of queer characters and themes. Due to the popularity of this panel, it was run again at another convention the following year.
As Guest of Honour at the Spaced Out's Out A Space mini convention in June 2000, Kerry gave a speech entitled, "Straight but not Narrow - The Author's Dilemma", which detailed the queer characters in her stories, and the difficulties for authors who strove to be inclusive of diversity while remaining aware of the contemporaneous sensitivities of publishers and readers. She also participated in a rerun of last year's panel on, "Alternative Sexuality, Alternative Science Fiction".
At Convergence in June 2002, Kerry joined authors Stephen Dedman and Joe Haldeman on a panel discussing queer themes in science fiction, entitled, 'The Forever Taboo?'.
Other aspects of fandom included her involvement with Sisters in Crime Australia and the Australian Society of Authors.
Kerry became a founding member of Sisters in Crime when we launched the organisation at the Melbourne Feminist Book Fortnight on 22 September 1991. She starred in a debate entitled “Feminist Crime Fiction: Confronting the Hard-boiled Head On”...In 2013, Kerry became the inaugural winner of Sisters in Crime’s Lifetime Achievement Award and remains the only one accorded such an honour. She also won the Ned Kelly Award for Crime Writing, Lifetime Contribution in 2003...
Kerry was an outstanding mentor to many emerging women crime writers and from 2000 sponsored the Malice Domestic Award in Sisters in Crime’s Scarlet Stiletto short story competition...[5]
Kerry was a wonderful writer, a mentor to many, and inspiration to the world. Her feminism, strong sense of justice, and love of fine clothes shine through in all her work. Phryne Fisher, the character she is best known for, is situated in the twenties but she is a hero for our times – bold, brave, smart, and sexy, and beholden to no man.[6]
Phryne Fisher
Phryne Fisher appeared on television in three seasons commencing in 2012 and continuing until 2015. This was followed up by a film in 2022, and a sequel series "Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries" beginning in 2019. An Asian version of her series, entitled "Miss S", was produced in 2020.[1]
The resulting fandom drew attention from academic Sue Turnbull in 2020:
Attending a screening of Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears at Melbourne’s Sun Theatre surrounded by fans – some who have flown across the world to be here – is an experience to remember.Miss Phryne Fisher, “that unpredictable whirlwind of a woman” as she is described in the film, has become a global fan phenomenon...
Watching the film with fans, it’s the ballroom scene that galvanises the attention. As the camera tracks around the space, I realise many of the on-screen guests are sitting around me. These are the fans who not only contributed to the successful crowd-funding campaign that raised A$733,210 from 7,763 fans and helped get the film made, but who also signed up to be extras...
As an academic with a long-standing interest in ethnographic audience research, I’m particularly interested in the stories the Miss Fisher fans tell me about their first encounter with the show, how they found like-minded others online, and how these encounters gradually gathered momentum...
The rhetoric is all about empowerment, but also the need to be unapologetically oneself, demonstrating the inestimable value of a fictional character who has found her way onto a global stage and into the hearts and minds of her devoted fans.[7]
There seems to be something poetic and fitting about Kerry's work becoming a focus of its own fan fiction.
Phryne Fisher Sample Fan Fiction
- Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Fan Fiction Net.
- Phryne/Jack fiction, Archive Of Our Own.
- Miss Fisher's MODern Murder Mysteries, Archive of Our Own.
Vale
Kerry passed away after a long illness, with fellow author (and Kerry Greenwood fan) Sue Bursztynski eulogizing her on Sue's blog:
There are twenty-two Phryne Fisher novels, with one more - the very last - to come out later this year, plus a volume of short stories.There will be no more Corinna Chapman books, alas. A pity because Corinna Chapman, that enthusiastic baker, was a lot more like Kerry than Phryne.
It’s sad to think there will be no more books - and even sadder that Kerry is gone. She was a delightful, cheery person everyone liked.[8]
As part of her own personal eulogy for Kerry, actor Miriam Margoyles included the extended family of fandom in her sympathies:
Wishing David and all her beloved MISS FISHER actors and fans long and fulfilled lives. Thank you for the joy.[9]
Photo Gallery
Kerry (left) is one of the speakers on the "Alternative Sexuality, Alternative Science Fiction" Panel at Aussiecon 3, Melbourne, September 1999.
Kerry with JOY-FM radio celebrity Addam Stobbs, Guests at the Out A Space mini convention on 11 June 2000.
Authors Kerry Greenwood, Stephen Dedman and Joe Haldeman are asked questions by Geoff Allshorn during the 'Forever Taboo' panel, Convergence, 7 June 2002.
References
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Wikipedia
- ^ Kerry Greenwood, Phryne Fisher/Kerry Greenwood website, Allen & Unwin
- ^ Jump up to: a b Nicola Heath, "Kerry Greenwood, author of the Phryne Fisher series, dies aged 70", ABC News, 7 April 2025.
- ^ Geoff and Miriam (editors), "An interview with Kerry Greenwood: Getting Feral With Kerry!", Diverse Universe #17, September 2003.
- ^ Carmel Shute, Vale Kerry Greenwood 17 June 1954 – 26 March 2025, Sisters in Crime, 7 April 2025.
- ^ Carmel Shute, quoted in Vale Kerry Greenwood, Australian Society of Authors, 7 April 2025
- ^ Sue Turnbull, "Miss Fisher and her fans: how a heroine on Australia’s small screen became a global phenomenon", The Conversation, 12 March 2020.
- ^ Sue Bursztynski, "A To Z Blogging Challenge 2025: Mysteries: K Is For Kerry Greenwood", The Great Raven, 11 April 2025.
- ^ Miriam Margoyles, cited in Charlotte McIntyre, "Legendary writer behind hit ABC drama given 'royal send-off' after details of her death emerge", Daily Mail Australia, 7 April 2025.